Heaven is a place of peace, joy, laughter and no more sorrow. It is the home of God, it is your home if you place your faith in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, are born of the Holy Spirit and led by Him. It is a place full of light; there is no darkness. Angels dwell there. No eye has seen what is prepared for those who love the Lord Jesus and are called according to His purposes. There are no more tears in Heaven.
You must define Heaven alongside Hell; a place where it is Winter forever (ie dark) and no Summer (ie light). Hell is a place of torment, darkness and unholy oblivion. Yet, we must never forget that our heavenly Father clearly says in His Word: there is a heaven to gain and a Hell to shun. Until believing, those who now know Him were once going to Hell, but not now, because we are adopted into His family and Heaven is our home.
There are eternal realities, our earthly bodies will one day pass away. Our hope is in Him, our Father, and in the reality of His Heaven. He wants us to share with others this hope and not to keep it to ourselves. He is interested and passionate for relationship with His creation, His people.
In Him is no darkness, Heaven is filled with His glory, essentially He is Heaven. We must rest on Him, our shield and defender; honour Him; bless Him and worship Him. In this way, through His Spirit, we will enter His courts with praise – this is Heaven.
No eye has seen what is in store for those who trust in Him. This refers to our Father in Heaven. Yet he who has seen the Lord Jesus, has also seen the Father. Jesus is also in Heaven.
Our God loves us; His love is Heaven. Jesus prayed, 'your Kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven', therefore on earth we can experience His love. Take time, reader, to meditate on these truths. We must also, encourage others in these truths. Heaven is a community. God put Heaven into the hearts of His creation, humanity. He created it to be so therefore it is appropriate for us to encourage His children everywhere to seek Him.
Heaven is His Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven. We must not waste our time on carnal things of this passing Earth, but we must seek first the Kingdom of Heaven in everything. This is true, noble and honourable service to our King and Father. Heaven is a place of joy, our joy is found only in our Father in Heaven. Do not let the Devil steal this joy, believe only in Him and experience Heaven.
Heaven
Reliance on God is crucial. Reliance on yourself leads to false humility. Reliance on God leads to true humility. He was tested and tried at all points but never found wanting. Jesus' obedience unto the Cross was humility. So that a guilty world will go free.
Why does God talk about freedom? Because freedom leads to humility and humility to patience, the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, longsuffering, kindness, gentleness, meekness, perseverance, joy in Him. Over-reliance on self leads to depression, anxiety, boredom, loss of life, an increase in illness; spiritual malnourishment at the cost of self-satisfaction. This is not fitting for children of God. These are things that He came to destroy on the Cross and did destroy. Therefore how can a man rely on himself when he has a loving heavenly Father to rely on and to make happy by putting his Father first in all things. This is proper and true reliance: i.e. to not guess or stumble over any problem – but to give all things whole-heartedly to your heavenly Father (in consultation with the most high God) who always has your best interests at heart.
Abraham was God's very reliable friend. No one else was asked by God to sacrifice his own son Isaac as a lamb-offering on an alter to death. And he obeyed. This was total reliance on God, his Father. That your Father offered His only true son that all may go free and that He offered a lamb-offering for the sin of the world proves He is reliable – God promised and He fulfilled. He is the fulfilment of the Biblical prophecies. He is the fulfilment of joy. There was not true joy and happiness until He came and rescued a dying world. In repentance you must listen to Him for He is holy and He enjoys his children. Their lives are special to Him and He is special to His children. What fruits are born out of intimacy with the true Father? All fruits!
Nothing but reliance on Him in intimacy with your Father will lead to true repentance and exile from your sin – you His children are exiles like the Exodus-Children – exiled from Egypt. This represents the Father's displeasure because Egypt was unpleasant for Him and for His people – to live in sin is an unpleasant thing. He exiled His people to the desert out of bondage but reliant on Him. Do not fear deserts – all believers in Him must be in the desert – the desert for Christ was a place of victory for Him. He gave victory in a desert. All His children are exiles – exiles from sin. He has exiled them out of sin by His blood on the cross. But they are not alone, nor ever shall be. When did He leave His Exodus-Children alone? Never! He was (and is) their Father. A father cares for his offspring so much that he helps them. Exiles from sin are happy and in a truly promised land. You see, the Exodus-Children never realised that He was the promised land. If only they had rested on Him. He is the place of exile – in Him is true abandonment and freedom – freedom from sin and a peace for today and tomorrow. Sin is left behind. His Exodus-Children did not leave Egypt behind in their hearts. The heart of man is desperately wicked, but He is completely reliable. In sin He found you and in glory He forms you – from glory to glory.
A true believer is formed in His presence and in His embrace. It is here that He gives peace and joy. Peace and joy are heavenly realities – they do NOT exist in the human heart naturally (in sinful man). They can only come from heaven. They can only be manifest through a heavenly reality becoming an earthly reality. This He calls grace – that He should be so loving to let His heaven touch Earth – because of His blood – only His blood, shed on a cross. Through this a believer in Him can enter into peace and joy and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is in reliance on this reality, on His heavenly reality that all His children go free – to be who they were planned to be – sons and daughters of the King, no longer in bondage to the king of this world but reliant on the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Take Jesus' Calvary experience – what did this mean to our heavenly Father? It meant that he could set his children free – sin could be exiled just like our Father exiled the children of Israel into the desert of Sinai. If he had not done this the world would not have known the true King of Endless Ages. This reliance on him brings entrance into heavenly realities – miracles, healings and all things supernatural. An abandoning to self is an infilling of his Holy Spirit – the question is do you want sin and self or him? This is the question he asks all his children in their hearts – “what do you want – me or yourself?”
Take him every time –he can give hope and show you life in all its colours. He is the colour of life, the colour of heaven is love, the colour of the Kingdom is love, the colour of your life is love in Christ. He is the artist and he uses the palette of colours to create, to create new and eternal pearls of great price – his Church – exiled to the world and not looking like the world. In fact his Church is free of the world and is free in him. The church therefore should reflect only heaven; only the reality of heaven and nothing else. This is the mark of the Church – it is different – it is the promised land for humanity – it is where the promised Messiah, Jesus, promised to Abraham, given to Mary, anointed by John the Baptist and given to the world on a Roman cross, can freely be found. Because Jesus is the promise – the Abrahamic promise, a Father's promise to his children, a heavenly promise, a worthy promise, a promise of eternal dancing in heaven. Dance in your heart to Him so that you will be free. Type your paragraph here.
Jesus' Cross of Suffering
Our heavenly Father's children are soldiers – always ready for battle. When at war a soldier stands ready; he is always ready for the battle-cry (the sound of going to battle); he is always ready for a command from on high (from a higher authority). A sleeping soldier is vulnerable – a ready soldier is able to conquer – to take lands. But he is ineffective alone.
A Christian soldier has with him a mighty army of heavenly hosts – he has with him a retinue of angels. He has with him our Father's Holy Spirit – your God. Do not be like Israel – they were not always ready nor always willing. First confirm with your heavenly Father and then be ready. Not all of our Father's children are successful warriors. Some sleep, some hunger, some starve, some get lost, some give up, some get bored, some stress and some find comfort in sin (mistakenly). Yet our Father loves them enough to offer them second chances day by day. He is abounding in mercy and abounding in love for his children. You need to know who he is and who you were meant to be. His Holy Spirit is an invitation into deeper communion with him. He is the dove that frees. Freedom for the soldier is freedom from self – that is why armies try to break self in a person; so that they will function more willingly in times of hostility – when under hostile fire for example. But our Father does not break us, he cleans the hearts of his children and sets them free – free to obey the orders and requests of our loving Father in heaven.
The Father's will revolves around success – his Kingdom success. In Jeremiah 6.16 he said “ask where the good way is and walk in it” and “listen to the sound of the trumpet”. However Israel rejected this offer. Success is listening and waiting upon our Father – not rejecting and offering useless sacrifices that he did not ask for. What a waste of time – they will not achieve Kingdom success because you (or anyone) have missed his voice and have missed his direct instructions for Kingdom advance.
We worship, as Christians, not out of superstition but out of truth and relationship – like Moses and the prophets. Not just a sainthood or a priesthood of all believers – a prophet-hood of all believers.
It is his passion, it is his plea,
that all his children will love him,
that is his passion, this is his plea,
that all his children will be free.
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Transformation
Bible Lessons
Romans 12.2, 'be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind'. What is transformation? Is it like the Transformers, the children's comic characters? Robots that change shape at the switch of a button? No, not our Father's children. His children are set apart for his glory. His glory is presence. The longer a child of his, stays in his presence, the longer and more he can work through them, even without them knowing this. He gives life, this life is his Holy Spirit; God on Earth. The Holy Spirit is united to our heavenly Father continually, doing the will of him who sent him. 'Be you transformed' means leaving the dark paths of sin and returning to your Father.
Like a lorry on a long-distance haulage trip, our Father's children carry him – his weight of glory with them in life's journey to wherever they go. They carry him with them on the journey – this transforms them. They see him change things, they see him work out everything for their good. They see him transform seemingly dire circumstances into heavenly realities – into beautiful outcomes.
What was the Cross of Christ – a beautiful outcome in a dire situation – your God suffered for you, the whole of creation suffered along with him that day when Jesus died; the sky turned to night [Mark 15.33]. Yet, the outcome was beautiful – a beautiful victory once and for all – a life changing victory. A vanquished foe was put to flight, the plan was complete – a beautiful outcome.
Has he changed? No. Does he still make beauty from ashes? Yes. Everyday, around the world a song of victory resounds in the heavens [Revelation 19.1]. A song of agape love, the love of the Father for mankind and mankind for the Father. With him there are no more tears. No more cries and no more abandonments to sin. Freely he gives and freely he takes away sin. He gives life at the exchange of death. His life for our life. This is transformative, restorative work done by his Holy Spirit on life's journey – it's called sanctification, it's called being sealed for the day of resurrection. It's called his grace – it's called the great I Am. What more do you want or need – only him, only his love to set free and peace with your creator.
This is who the great I Am is – the great God of all who still cares for his children. He plays with the cattle of a thousand hills but most of all he prefers the company of his blood-bought children. Only staying in close proximity with him will set you free and allow you to know who you are in him so that he can mould you into the vessel he would have you be – for his glory. It's transformative freedom – the freedom to transform circumstances and the transformation brought about by freedom.
Reliance
Fear
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brother and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Concentrate on what is right and noble and true. Concentrate on things above and not on things below. Concentrate on our God, the author and finisher of your faith. Concentrate on Jesus Christ, and his love and his cross. Prefect love casts out fear. This love is the perfect love of a heavenly Father to a son and daughter; perfect love of a brother (Jesus) to a brother and perfect love of a comforter (Holy Spirit) to a friend.
Our heavenly Father's love surrounds you and make you fear him in love. His love is an all consuming fire. Fasten your belt of truth to overcome fear. Know who you are in Christ. Never fear him, i.e. be scared to come to to him. He is your Father. Respect him and honour him, this is Godly fear. This identifies two types of fear: a scared type of fear and a reverent/holy type of fear.
The gift from our heavenly Father is that humans are not all born with fear – however, some are locked into patterns of fear. Where did these patterns come from? Hell! The only place of chains is Hell. Jesus can loose you from these chains by you coming to him in humble repentance. He gives freedom from the chains of sin and death that so easily imprison us. Adam, in the Garden of Eden, (see Genesis 1) believed a lie of the Devil – Adam believed that God is scary (fear) and by doing so he lost respect (fear) for his Father.
Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Fear of God is love of God. This breaks the chains that bind us. This sets captives free. In Isaiah chapter 3 the Israelites did not fear the Lord their God, out of love, and by doing so they heaped judgement upon themselves by entering the Devil's camp.
Some people fear fear! That is, they fear reverently fearing of God. The fear of loving our heavenly Father with all their heart, soul and mind. They fear loving others as themselves. How can they overcome this fear? By being Jesus' friend, by allowing themselves into a relationship with our heavenly Father. Then they will know he is good and not to be feared. This is wisdom. God says, 'fear not for I am with you'. His Holy Spirit is with you, this is why you have no need to fear anything. In him there is no darkness, i.e. there is no fear in him. He lives in you, so fear not!
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart, I love you and I thank you for taking away all my fears on the Cross of Calvary.
Soldiers of Christ
Our Father Forgives
Unless you enter into Jesus suffering, how will you glorify him. It was all for his glory, that he died. Only those who see his glory, on the tree of Calvary understand him. His glory is in his death and resurrection; the greatest miracle ever performed or ever will be: the God the universe dying. Death has lost its sting and time is no more. The curse is lifted; you are free. Freedom only is found in him. What will you do with him? How much is his death worth for you? Many have died for him (martyrs) – to live is Christ, to die is gain. There is a dying world to set free. His Holy Spirit sets free.
People run away from him because he convicts their hearts – they cannot take the pain of conviction but beyond the pain is life immortal and love unbounded and freedom unending and joy unspeakable and relationship gained and hearts mended. He needs all his children to be free in him. To know him and hear him, to worship him in spirit and in truth. Freedom gained is freedom restored: a restoration to their heavenly Father. Jesus' body was broken like no other man. The miracle was he got to the cross. He was beaten, whipped and dragged to the Cross. Loss of blood should have stopped him getting their. Yet he had to reach the Cross. The Holy Spirit drove him on. He was lifted high. His body was already blue with beatings and blood stained. He had sweated drops of blood, already the skin on his body was red. Every tendons bulged and heaved as he drew breath each time in agony. His eyes could not open for the pressure on his brain. The crown of thorns lay heavy on his head. Yet he survived for hours on the Cross. The Centurion said 'surely he is the son of God'; no other man had ever survived for so long in such a condition. Most people had left watching him for the ugliness was too great to look upon. The stench of death too great to endure. The vultures hovered above, the smell of death was strong. The noise of his suffering was haunting. Yet the outward did not even near reflect the inward suffering of the Lord's Spirit. The Holy Spirit who he was one with and who he had ministered with while on Earth was so reduced by the sin of the world put upon the Son of God that Jesus cried out 'My God why have you forsaken me?' This is the passion of Jesus. Why? Because we cannot truly glorify him unless we have entered into his death and suffering upon the Cross, knowing that it was for us and that it was our sin that was thrown upon him on the Cross. Yet he was innocent but he endured it for us. But it did not have the power to defeat him, his Holy Spirit was too strong – he broke the power of cancelled sin – he rose again defeating sin, death and Hell. He descended so that we might ascend to him, our Father. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you hide him from others, will you tell, will you share, will you keep hidden his life and death, will you be free like he is free?
Victorious Living
Read 1 Peter 1 vv 3-16
Job 3.1 ...Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth...
The Prophet Job was a prophet of old. He lived a very long time ago. In the book of Job chapter 3, Job proclaimed out of his mouth a message of suffering after the Devil had stolen his wealth and health and his children's lives. Our heavenly Father expects all his children to proclaim out of their mouths a message of hope and salvation for nations and peoples (1 Peter 1.3). He has given us life and life more abundantly through his son, Jesus Christ. For this reason a Christian should respond well to Him at all times and should not react in haste or in anger to anything that happens in life. How you conduct yourself is important to our Father and to the advance of His Kingdom. How you conduct yourself with him is important – do not confess unbelief with others. Proclaim His goodness, not your bitterness. Talk to your heavenly Father about anything. Not with others – only with him. He loves you and He wants to fellowship with you.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for suffering and dying for me. Help me to be more like you. Help me to give all my cares to you and help me to be a cheerful worshipper of you no matter what happens in this world.
Contents:
Heaven
Jesus' Cross of Suffering
Reliance
Soldiers of Christ
Transformation
Victorious Living
Truth
Fear
Truth
John 8.32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is much that is bad in the World, but only one thing good: that is God. Some believe truth is relative. However, truth can only be sought by knowing our heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him is true joy and peace. Our Father's truth is free. It is a free gift and it sets free.
Truth does not come by itself, it is an amalgam of compounds, so to speak: it is a series of experiences blended together to the point of mixture. It is here that a person believes something. This belief becomes truth to them. What they do with this truth is usually put it away and recall it when they need it. Our Father is truth; He is to be glorified.
How does a dying World believe this truth: that Jesus has set them free from their bondage and dross? It has to see Jesus. How can they see Him? They can see Him through you, His children. Put on the whole armour of the Gospel, of His Holy Spirit. He is the armour, He is your armour. In Him you can trust; not the voices of other false truths, not found in the Gospel. His Word is truth and in it are found pearls of truth. Pearls of new life.
God alone is wise; no human is wise is comparison to Him. The World is blinded by sensuous wisdom – of darkness. They are lovers of darkness, rather than light. The light of His truth, sets free. God can switch people on, like a light bulb. Only He can do this by His Holy Spirit who is the light. They become illuminated and are no longer in truthlessness and darkness. God lights people up out of His generosity. Do you think you know who He is? He is much kinder than you could ever think.
Prayer: Thank you Father that you are the Truth, the Light and the Way. Thank you Jesus for lighting my heart with your truth. Thank you Holy Spirit for filling me.