It’s snowing outside. About time! It looks good to me. It warms my heart to see those huge white flakes come down.
I thank the Lord that I have been having better sleep the last couple of days. I’ve been taking melatonin. I think that is the reason. Now I just need to improve my dreams. I want dreams that are more godly, more heavenly. That would be so great. Maybe when I start writing my new book on heaven that will happen. I’m so excited about it. I’m still in the reading and note taking stage. Soon I will be ready to start writing. And, as usual I will be blogging all along as I write.
In my daily bible reading I’ve been noticing more and more passages on heaven. Hebrews 11 is that way. Each faith character mentioned has a heavenly goal—they looked for a better place, a heavenly city. And that moved them ahead through all their suffering. They looked not for earthly comfort, but for the hope of heaven. And even Christ endured the cross for the joy set before Him. I would like to have dreams of heaven and dreams where I am rejoicing in my anticipation of heaven.
Reading a book on heaven by John MacArthur has really got me thinking about God’s omnipresence, and how He will always be with us, always be with all of us individually at the same time. I haven’t been able to find any verses about this—only that He will be with me always. Here are a few quotes from MacArthur’s book:
[We will have] unbroken fellowship with God.
[We will have unity with God] much like the unity that exists between Father and Son.
Perfect fellowship with God is the very essence of heaven.
In heaven we will continually be seeing God.
From 1 Cor. 13:12: “Now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face…”
David said in Ps. 17:15, “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness…” (in his resurrection).
It’s hard for me to grasp the idea that I will be in God’s presence always, and that will also be true of everybody else in heaven. I know that He will not be split apart. Each of us will get Him in full. And since God the Father is pure spirit, we will really be looking at the person of Jesus the Son—He is the manifestation of God.
And then how will it be when I am with a small group of friend’s? Will Jesus be there with us? I suppose. And will He also be in every other small group of people—at the same time?
Will His physical presence always be with me, with us? Or sometimes will He be present only in His spirit? Whatever it is, I’m sure we will all be satisfied with it.
And since I will have a glorified body, I will be able to go and be with Him whenever I want—to travel miles and miles in a second. We will have a body like the resurrection body of Jesus was on earth. He was appearing and disappearing and going through walls.
The city of New Jerusalem, our heavenly home, will be huge. And if I had my apartment on the top floor, I think I will be able to somehow fly up there in a second. And what a view I will have! Looking over the whole new earth!
In my last post I gave you all my complaints. This morning I have been thinking and feeling how good my life is—pretty good. I really have very little to complain about. I am well fed, feeling good, healthy. I have no debts, just day to day expenses. God is good!
The sun is shining, and I know that God has been merciful to me.
I am feeling more and more like writing my next book on heaven, and I have an idea for the outline. I think at this time in my life the best thing I can do is to think every day on heaven. Maybe that is why I feel so good today—because I have been reading about it—what it will be like.
Some people say that if you are too heavenly bound you are no earthly good. But I think that if you are too earthly bound you are no earthly good; for thinking on heaven is the best way for a Christian to feel good about life. Knowing where we are headed and knowing that it will be wonderful, tends to brighten ones day on earth and give him a motivation for living a holy life.
When the sky is bright and partly cloudy with gusts of wind, cloud formations can be very beautiful. Lately, I have been thinking of writing on the subject of heaven. And when I look heavenward through the clouds it gives me a greater incentive to write on that subject. For when He comes in His glory and when we go to meet Him it will be “in the clouds.” (1 Thess. 4:17; Acts 1:9; Rev. 11:12)
After seeing the movie Field of Dreams last night (for the one-hundredth time), I gave great thought to the question that was asked by Shoeless Joe Jackson and by Costner’s father, “Is this heaven?” Then I also watched the short slip at the end, the making of the movie, and I was surprised to hear the producer say that the lines regarding heaven could really be the theme of the movie—that the ball players who had gotten kicked out of baseball were given a second chance to come back to earth and play baseball—and that was their heaven.
I immediately pulled from my book shelf the book Heaven, by Randy Alcorn, to ponder the subject. I found that one of his chapters was entitled, “Will Our Dreams Be Fulfilled and Missed Opportunities Regained?” It seems that Alcorn thinks that heaven will be a chance for every Christian to extend or perfect what we do now; that in the New Earth we will have the chance to finish what we started now and to perfect—and even sort of grow in it. That thought excites me. Everything I always wanted to do but didn’t get a chance to do, I will get a chance to do in heaven, or on the New Earth. For instance, I think I am gifted as a teach, but haven’t had a chance to do it. In heaven I will have that chance. And I will be good at it. And the books I have written (not very well), in the New Earth those books will be wonderfully revised and many people will read them. And I will teach from those books.
Now I’m motivated to study this subject of heaven—to keep those kinds of books on my reading list, and to study it in the Bible.
After John sees the vision of the witnesses and the angels that will protect them, he next sees a great multitude of people standing before the throne in heaven and before the Lamb. They are clothed in white robes and they are praising God with palm branches in their hands. And many angels and the twenty-four elders and the four cherubim were also worshipping God saying,
Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever.
Then one of the elders asked John about the great multitude: “Who are they and where have they come from?” As if he didn’t know.
But he did know, and John knew it. So he said to him, “My lord, you know.”
Then the elder told John who they were.
1. They have come out of the Tribulation.They apparently were not saved…
If there ever was a bible verse that is being ignored it is this one: “Therefore, Comfort One Another With These Words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
And for some reason I have been putting the blame mostly on pastors, because in their preaching they don’t very often preach to comfort their people with the news that Jesus is coming soon, and that the dead, as well as the living, will be translated and taken up to heaven to be with Him.
But Paul, in this verse, is not speaking to pastors; he said, “comfort one another with these words.” Hence, every Christian has the command to comfort others.
And how are we to comfort out fellow believer? Are we to put our arm around them and tell them that all will be well, that things aren’t as terrible as they seem?
NO!
The way we are commanded to comfort them is “with these words.”
What words?
Though Paul gives them ample instructions in chapter 4, and in earlier chapters, I believe he is referring to verse 13-17, because the Thessalonians were so concerned about those believers who had died; for he says, “Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”
And the words that Paul wants us to comfort others with is the entire teaching here on the Rapture of the church, which is found in verses 13 through 17. Yes, if our brethren are to be comforted, they must hear the entire teaching. We are not just to say the words, Jesus is coming soon! We should tell them all of it. I think people are tired of short clichés. That mean very little to them. They want the whole story. They want to know in detail what is going to happen. So here it is as Paul teaches it.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 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, shall 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 shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Here is the teaching in my words:
1. We are not to be ignorant concerning those who have died. For just as Jesus died and rose again, all our Christian friends who have died will also rise and be with Him.
2. Very soon He will come to us from heaven. And the angels will declare His coming with a shout and with a trumpet sound.
3. And the dead will be the first to be resurrected and taken up to Him.
4. Then those who are alive will rise up next; and they will meet the resurrected dead in the sky.
5. And all believers, the resurrected dead and the living, will be with the Lord in the air.
6. And from that time on, we will always be with the Lord.
This is the teaching that God wants us to bring to our fellow Christians—in case they are ignorant or confused about such things. This is the teaching that Paul says will give them comfort. And perhaps it would be better to read the verses or quote them from memory, so that they will not miss anything; for every word of Scripture is so powerful. As Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “The word of God is living and powerful, and shaper than any two-edged sword…”
I wonder how many of us need to be comforted by “these words.” All of us!
And I wonder how many of us need to say “these word” to others so as to comfort them. All of us!
Yes, we really need to be comforters. We really need to bring “these words” to others—words of hope and encouragement. I challenge you as I challenge myself to do it!
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” The key word we are looking for here is “recompensed.” It means to be rewarded for. It is God’s praise to us for our good works. It is the way He will bless us for eternity.
A word used to describe our blessed reward is “crown.” In one respect, we may see this word as a reference to rulership. For because we will receive crowns, He will make us rulers alongside of Him in His kingdom.
In another respect we may see our crowns, generally, as our eternal life; and yet each crown given may represent certain characteristics of our eternal life. The following are five different examples…
When the bus could’t go any further, this is how we got to our destination at Arrowhead Springs I am in the upper right corner.
Hi-C actually started in Junior High, as I have already written about. But it continued into high school. I am so thankful to God for this group, because it kept me excited about my Christian life. And one of the verses that I remember using during that time was John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” Yes, I think Hi-C for a me was all about living the abundant life in the midst of so much pain and turmoil at home, and also in the classroom—I just wasn’t a very good student.
I think God was using Hi-C, along with sports, to get me through life at that time; otherwise I think I would have been very depressed. The first thing I remember about the club was our trip to Arrowhead Springs, Colorado (pictured). I don’t remember a lot, just that it was a great motivator and I felt so much joy being around other believers. It was like experiencing a small bit of heaven.
Similarly, I remember our city-wide rallies. Hi-C wasn’t just in my high school. It was in several high schools in Minneapolis. Jerry Kaufman was a God-send for the rallies—a great motivator. Anyway, we would have city-wide rallies about once a month, and Jerry Kaufman, with his accordion, would lead them. It was mainly a time of singing Christian songs; and we also usually had a special speaker that would give a gospel presentation. Oh, we also had plenty of time to play games and be rowdy. And now that I think of it, there were also city-wide hay rides and other events.
This is Gary.
I think I actually made more friends from other schools, through the city-wide events, then from my school at West High. And I went to great lengths to keep those relationships going. I remember having to ride the bus for very long distances, using two or three transfers to get to places. And it was worth it. I often visited my friend Gary Westlund. He became sort of a mentor to me. I remember when we would team up and go witnessing at Lake Calhoun beach. It was always me and Gary.
The Hi-C Club at West was a much smaller group. I was elected President, and we also had two secretaries and a treasurer—so I guess we were fairly organized. Anyway, we had weekly meetings where we would usually invite a speaker. I remember that one of our regular speakers was Mr. Baxter, who was a teacher and a coach at West. Everyone liked him.
Our intention in the group was not just to have fun. We set out to invite as many as we could from school to group meeting so that they would eventually find Christ. I’m not sure how many that was, but there were a few. I sometimes wonder where they all are right now. I know that many have been greatly influenced by Hi-C just as I have been. I don’t have many pictures, but I do have several writings in my year books that have mentioned Hi-C, and they usually signed off with “In Christ,” or even “Love in Christ.” Those were the days. I pray that they are still going on for the Lord as I am.
Stephen Nielsen 