There’s a popular misconception today. It’s the idea that Heaven is a dull, monotonous, boring place. That all anyone ever does in Heaven is float around in a clear blue sky, sitting on top of a thin cloud, with wings and a halo, strumming a harp for all of eternity. This kind of existence would indeed be boring, but this is not an accurate picture of Heaven. The fact of the matter is this: Heaven is anything but boring.
I found an interesting resource from the website got questions.org. In an article on what we will be doing in Heaven (I’ve included the link below), the author writes, “In Luke 23:43, Jesus declared, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The word Jesus used for “paradise” is paradeisos which means “a park, that is, (specifically) an Eden (place of future happiness, paradise)”... The point is that Jesus picked and used the word for “a park.” Not just any park but “the paradise of God” or park of God (Revelation 2:7) which for us will be a place of future happiness. Does this sound like a boring place? When you think of a park, do you think of boredom?”
http://www.gotquestions.org/doing-in-Heaven.html
Furthermore, I don’t have to tell you that the burdens of this life can be overwhelming. There's pain, heartache, sorrow, broken dreams, and intense suffering. One of the main reasons I'm blogging about this today is because I'm feeling the heavy weight of the trials of the world in my own life. That’s why these words from Revelation 21 are so encouraging:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (verses 3 and 4). No mourning or pain will exist in Heaven; only bliss and happiness.
I’m sure many of you are saying, “Sign me up for that.” Well, the fact is, not everyone will go to Heaven; only those who have a right relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. John 3:36 reads, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life” (one could substitute the word “Heaven” here in place of “life”). To be candid with you, I don’t particularly enjoy concluding the blog installment in this way. I would have preferred to have ended on the high note of the previous paragraph, but I have to tell you the truth, no matter how difficult or unpopular.
The Bible says if you want to see Heaven, you have to believe in Jesus. That is, you have to put your faith, trust, and confidence in Him alone to save you and take you to Heaven one day. If you haven’t done this, if to this point you have rejected Jesus, I urge you to choose to believe in Him today.
Kevin
(John 3:16)
Monday, July 28, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
God is aware of every shed tear
Have you ever stopped and thought about just how many tears we cry? We cry during times of heartache, pain, and tragedy. We cry tears of joy during weddings, graduations, or even during certain moments in a movie or TV show. We cry tears of longing, expressing a strong desire of how much we wish something would happen, but it hasn’t. Or how about when we laugh for so long that it actually causes us to cry? My point is we all cry. This is not something for which we should be ashamed; it is a gift that God has given us.
It is astonishing to consider that the God of the universe is intimately aware of every single tear. Psalm 56:8 is a precious verse to me; it reads, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (NLT). The more I think about this, the more I marvel at God’s attention to this detail. For example, I always cry at that magnificent end of "It's a Wonderful Life." God recorded those tears in His book titled "The Tally of Kevin Bauer's Tears" (or whatever He calls it).
This is so encouraging to contemplate. God loves you and me so much that He is intimately aware with everything that happens to us; nothing escapes His notice. He knows the exact number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30). He knows every word that we say; He knows every thought that we think; He sees each time we laugh; He sees when we cry. God isn’t ignorant of even the most minuscule occurrences of the day.
Kevin
It is astonishing to consider that the God of the universe is intimately aware of every single tear. Psalm 56:8 is a precious verse to me; it reads, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (NLT). The more I think about this, the more I marvel at God’s attention to this detail. For example, I always cry at that magnificent end of "It's a Wonderful Life." God recorded those tears in His book titled "The Tally of Kevin Bauer's Tears" (or whatever He calls it).
This is so encouraging to contemplate. God loves you and me so much that He is intimately aware with everything that happens to us; nothing escapes His notice. He knows the exact number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30). He knows every word that we say; He knows every thought that we think; He sees each time we laugh; He sees when we cry. God isn’t ignorant of even the most minuscule occurrences of the day.
Kevin
Thursday, July 3, 2014
The power of Biblical context
My pastor, Bill Oudemolen, often says if you take a Bible verse out of its context it can very easily become a pretext. This is a wise statement. There is one Bible verse I want to focus on today that is often yanked out of its context and has become a very popular pretext.
The verse I’m referring to is Philippians 4:13. This verse reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV). This is often quoted as alleged proof that God will help us accomplish any goal, no matter how inherently selfish. As if the verse actually said: “I can accomplish anything, no matter how seemingly impossible, because Christ will give me the necessary power to complete it.” That’s not what the verse says and this is quite a precarious road to be on.
For example, a student wants to ace a test, and they neglected to study for it, can they still get that “A” just by quoting “I can do all things through Christ”? Or a person is about to have an important job interview, can they just quote Philippians 4:13 and be assured that God will give them that job? Or someone wants to be like Tony Stark and create a special suit and become a real life “Iron Man” who fights crime; should they go for it because the Bible says “I can do all things through Christ”? (Granted, that last one is wacky, but I purposely gave an odd example to help prove my point.)
All of these examples display a fundamental misinterpretation of what God is actually trying to teach us here. Philippians 4:13 is not a proof text where God promises He will endow us with supernatural power to complete every ambition or dream that we have. So what does it mean, then? Once again, context is crucial, so let’s go back a few verses.
The second half of Philippians 4:11 reads, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Verse 12: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” And the reader waits expectantly to be informed of what this “secret” of being content is. Interestingly, the next verse is our verse of focus for today; Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Therefore, in context, it’s crystal clear that the main point here is this: no matter what happens to us in life, we can experience contentment. “Whether I live in abundance or poverty, pleasure or heartache, bliss or agony,” Paul says, “I can do all of these things, through Christ. He is the one who gives me the daily strength I need to live whatever life God has called me to, and to do so with contentment.”
Kevin
The verse I’m referring to is Philippians 4:13. This verse reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV). This is often quoted as alleged proof that God will help us accomplish any goal, no matter how inherently selfish. As if the verse actually said: “I can accomplish anything, no matter how seemingly impossible, because Christ will give me the necessary power to complete it.” That’s not what the verse says and this is quite a precarious road to be on.
For example, a student wants to ace a test, and they neglected to study for it, can they still get that “A” just by quoting “I can do all things through Christ”? Or a person is about to have an important job interview, can they just quote Philippians 4:13 and be assured that God will give them that job? Or someone wants to be like Tony Stark and create a special suit and become a real life “Iron Man” who fights crime; should they go for it because the Bible says “I can do all things through Christ”? (Granted, that last one is wacky, but I purposely gave an odd example to help prove my point.)
All of these examples display a fundamental misinterpretation of what God is actually trying to teach us here. Philippians 4:13 is not a proof text where God promises He will endow us with supernatural power to complete every ambition or dream that we have. So what does it mean, then? Once again, context is crucial, so let’s go back a few verses.
The second half of Philippians 4:11 reads, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Verse 12: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” And the reader waits expectantly to be informed of what this “secret” of being content is. Interestingly, the next verse is our verse of focus for today; Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Therefore, in context, it’s crystal clear that the main point here is this: no matter what happens to us in life, we can experience contentment. “Whether I live in abundance or poverty, pleasure or heartache, bliss or agony,” Paul says, “I can do all of these things, through Christ. He is the one who gives me the daily strength I need to live whatever life God has called me to, and to do so with contentment.”
Kevin
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