Heaven on Earth: A New Definition

“I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.”

Psalm 116:9

“It was heaven on earth!” is a phrase often used to describe over-the-top experiences, such as a symphony, sunset, or an evening with one you love.   Heaven in those instances could best be summed up:  no pain, only joy.  In other words, it’s all about us.

I’ve spent time this past year thinking over the phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”   (bold, mine)

To me it hints at the somewhat radical idea that I could experience portions of heaven now.  The thought growing in me is this:  We don’t have to WAIT to get to heaven; we are able to experience  portions of it here on earth, if we have eyes to see what heaven really looks like.   Jesus Himself told us to ask for it.

So I wrestled with my idea of heaven:  what does it look like? 

My images do not include hugs from deceased family members or streets of gold.  (Even though those images are of heaven.)  Those portions of heaven can’t be translated to earth right now.  

So what can? What am I to seek?

My heart tells me it’s:  

• A special place in heaven called the Throne Room.  The place where the presence of the Lord dwells, reigns, shines, and is worshipped. 
• It’s the place where we worship Him, and EVERYTHING else fades away until the only thing that matters is telling Jesus we love him, and
• Receiving His love which soaks every fiber of our being. 

THAT is heaven: being in the presence of the Lord. (It's all about Him!)   And that portion of heaven CAN come to earth. 

I searched the Bible for ideas of heaven-come-to-earth, and one image from the Bible really leapt off the page and into my heart. 

Read Daniel 3 (Old Testament) right now.  It’s quite a story!

Three men (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were experiencing ANYTHING but huggy-times and beautiful sunsets.   Life became a fire wanting to consume them.  But in the midst of the fire the Lord came to them.  In the very center of their trial, they were ushered into the Throne Room of God and “they walked before the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 116:9) – and the Kingdom came to them.  They stepped into “heaven on earth.”

So what about you, girlfriend?  Are you facing fiery trials? Are the flames drawing near?  If so, have faith to see that you have stepped into a portal that can usher you directly into the Throne Room of heaven  - for He is true to His name, Emmanuel . . . Jesus is WITH US.  He is with YOU.  And you truly can experience heaven NOW.  I will pray that you will have the faith to believe it, eyes open to see it, and will experience the glory and power of His Kingdom come . . . to YOU!

One day, may your testimony even be of this fiery trial:  “It was heaven on earth!”

(For further encouragement, read all of Psalm 116.)

[NOTE:  Fuller recently published her first book,  Just As . . . I AM  (Vol. One), 

a worship-based Bible study with on-line worship playlists and NO HOMEWORK! 

To learn more, or to connect with her, go to www.justasIAMworship.com. ]

Thank you

 

 2 Corinthians 2:14

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in trimphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

 

 

Coddling Sin, Part 2

2 Corinthians 1:21NLT

It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ.

I must have struck a nerve with last week's post - Coddling Sin.  (By the way, I apologize for taking so long with a follow up.  I had a Board Meeting amongst many other life issues.  Thank you for your patience.)

 

Your Responses

I really enjoyed reading your responses.  Some of you shared stories of great opposition when you stood firm to Biblical principles with friends and acqaintances.  One of you, a business owner, experienced great hardship when you took a firm stand to God's definition of marriage.

To bring closure, I'd like to share 3 responses from women who are my teachers and have years and years of experience in ministry.   I think you'll benefit from the specifics of their answers!

 

True Friends - Phyllis Foy, November's ISI speaker's response:

In my own life, three women came and told me when I left Bob and was living in sin that I was wrong, that I would regret this and God would judge me.  They spared no words and prayed with me and for me.  They loved me and helped more than anyone will ever know.

There were times I hated them, loved them, could not stand them, othertimes I called them to cry. They were true friends, they did not spare words or the Bible.  They told me the truth, not what I wanted to hear.

 

Confronting Lifestyles of Sin -

Carol G.'s response:  Bible Teacher and in ministry for over 40 years -

 

"The key is confronting in love - with the goal of helping the Believer acknowledge their sin, repent & be restored. We need to be certain that we have removed our "planks" before confronting another's "sliver".  We may need to stop having fellowship with someone who chooses to enjoy their sin, but we should never stop loving & praying for them. Any confrontation should be done with humility & sensitivity lest we turn someone farther away from God."  

Rachel A.'s response.  Rachel is a Bible teacher who does lots and lots of research.  (She's also a scientist at Duke!)

Unchecked sin among believers weakens the Church and its influence in the world.  I think this is why Paul was so adamant about it in his letter to the Corinthians. It is also important to remember the context and audience of his letter. He was writing to a group of former pagans who viewed sex as a normal part of their culture and even their pagan worship practices (temple prostitutes). 

 

They may have been comparing themselves to their unbelieving friends/family members and were so busy judging them that they didn't have time to deal with the sin in their own life. We do this too when we choose to judge those who aren't believers. What other way should unbelievers act? They are spiritually dead, they don't have the power to do anything else.

 

The believer has been given the Holy Spirit and His power to say no to sin and therefore we should stop excusing a lifestyle of sin.  I think this is who Paul says to avoid, those believers who are living a lifestyle of sin, a continual pattern of sin, not the believer who is coming out of sin habits (maybe not all at once) but definitely continuing to grow in Christ. If we truly avoided such people perhaps they could no longer justify their sin because they would see that it was costing them their fellowship with other believers. This is minor compared to their loss of fellowship with the Father.   This may lead to repentance.

 

The way we go about breaking the tie would require much prayer and we would certainly need to be sure that our own lives were above reproach (not without sin as this is impossible but certainly with no known continual sin) so perhaps this would cause all believers to take personal holiness a lot more seriously.  

I hope this helps!  It sure helps me to have a stronger backbone and for more grace!

See you tomorrow:)