Believe Week 10: Heaven IS for Real!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 10: Eternity”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Heaven is for real!
In 2014 a movie by this name was released based on the book by the same title that documented the story of a young boy who shares an experience of heaven in a near death experience. Here’s Wikipedia’s summary:
Four-year-old Colton Burpo (Connor Corum) is the son of Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear), pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska. Colton says he experienced Heaven during an emergency surgery after having Acute appendicitis. He describes to his incredulous family about having seen the surgeon operating on his ruptured appendix, his mother calling people in the waiting room to pray, and his father in another room yelling at God to not let him die. He also speaks of incidents with people he never met or knew about: meeting a great-grandfather who had died long before he was born, an unborn sister he never knew about who had died in a miscarriage, and having met Jesus.
Colton speaks about his experiences in Heaven, and Todd is faced with the dilemma of determining the legitimacy of his son’s experience. Todd’s wariness about discussing the situation erodes the confidence of the board members of his church, and he is contacted by several members of the media. When Todd is called by a radio station for an impromptu on-air interview, he invites them to attend his sermon the following Sunday. At church, he preaches about his son’s experiences and reveals his support for him.
I didn’t read the book, but did watch the movie. These three things stood out to me:
- People would ask me, “Did you read the book? Do you think heaven is for real?” No, I didn’t read the book and while the story of the 4-year old on the operating table is intriguing, the Bible gives me all the proof I need that heaven is for real.
- People also would ask, “What do you think of this boy’s experience? Do you think it really happened?” I would answer, “I would guess it did. I can’t deny someone’s experience. However, always ask, ‘Did this experience draw a person closer to Jesus and relying on his grace or did it pull someone away from grace and relying on oneself?’” I am not saying this experience of heaven is not real, but I know Satan is a deceiver to lead us trust in something or someone other than Jesus.
- What was most troubling was after watching the movie there was no clear mention of “How does a person get to heaven?” I may have missed it, but the movie lacked any clear proclamation of sin and grace. So people very easily could have left with a “just believe” mindset without any objective truth of Jesus in which to believe.
Jesus doesn’t want us to leave us empty or hanging. He knows that heaven and hell are for real. He wants us not to rely on the experience of a 4 year old, but to rely on the experience of our Savior.
The way to experience heaven for eternity is clear. Jesus said to his disciples in John 14:1-6:
John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Trusting Jesus is the only way to heaven. He is THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through Jesus. The movie missed this truth…but I don’t want you to miss it.
By contrast, the way to miss out on an eternity with Jesus is by rejecting him as your Savior.
Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Heaven IS for real and the way to an eternity with Jesus is clear. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you WILL be saved!
Apply: Why is it sometimes easier to believe someone’s recent “experience” with heaven instead of the account the Bible gives of heaven? Listen when people talk about “going to heaven.” Are they expressing trust and faith in Jesus or in some other way to heaven? As you have opportunity, let them know Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you not only for telling me about heaven, but providing my way to be there with you forever. AMEN.
Believe Week 10: Are you eternal?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 10: Eternity”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
“My computer is taking forever!”
(It was 15 seconds.)
“This class will NEVER end.”
(It was 20 minutes.)
“I don’t think my pain will ever end.”
(It was 3 hours.)
“I wish we could stay here forever.”
(A child at Disney world)
“They lived happily ever after.”
(The ending to the latest romantic comedy.)
We have a hard time grasping eternity. Yet we use terminology in our daily language that indicates as humanity we are aware of an eternal reality. Those things we don’t like…we don’t want to last forever. Those things we enjoy…we wish they would last forever.
Did you know that the concept of eternity is a unique aspect of human beings? King Solomon inspired by God’s Spirit wrote this in Ecclesiastes 3:11-14:
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Eternity has been set on the hearts of human beings. If you read the first part of Ecclesiastes 3, it is the list of “a time for this…a time for that…” While events happen in time, there is an awareness of something beyond the bounds of time.
So where did that come from?
Could it be we were created by an eternal God for eternity? I think so. When God made mankind in his image, it certainly seems like having an eternal existence was part of his plan. How do we know?
He put the “Tree of Life” in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God’s intent was that life would be experienced in perfect harmony with him and with each other forever. God even created the human body to live a LONG time (Adam lived 930 years!) However, in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve lost the perfection with which they were created and lost access to the Tree of Life in the Garden.
Was this an act of punishment or kindness?
Genesis 3:22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
God didn’t want Adam and Eve to live forever in the sinful state of their earthly existence. Yet eternity was not lost as a concept. It was embedded on the hearts of humanity. That would not and is not going away.
We will live forever…the question is whether it will be with the Lord or apart from the Lord.
Tomorrow we’ll explore that question.
Apply: Have you ever noticed “eternity on your heart”? What do you think the experience of eternity will be like?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for putting in our awareness the reality of eternity. We ask that as you intended us to live forever in a perfect harmony with you and each other, you would allow us to experience that in heaven because of your Son Jesus. AMEN.
Free Devotion Friday: Where is Justice?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 9: Stewardship”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Justice
For the past week plus, our nation has been riveted on the case of Kyle Rittenhouse who is being charged with murder of two individuals and attempted murder of a third as he was in Kenosha during Black Lives Matter riots of 2020. His defense is one of self-defense, only firing when his life and body were threatened.
I will admit I haven’t watched all the proceedings and I do pray for the jurors and the judge in this case. It has got me thinking about justice and our justice system.
I remember years ago writing a presentation for a pastors’ conference on two Hebrew words. One word meant “Righteous” and one word meant “justice.” I remember the research well as my discovery of the use of these two terms in regard to their raw meaning and their significance to our faith is profound. (I won’t share everything in a brief devotion.)
The bottom line meaning of these two terms is as follows: “Righteousness” means “right adherence to the law” and “Justice” means “right application of the law.”
The constant in both of these is “the law.” The law is to be an objective standard by which one’s action can be measured “right” or “wrong.” The law removes emotion in that it does not matter what I “feel” about a law or if I “feel” that the action was right or wrong.
Granted, at times there may be challenges to determine WHAT law should be applied or come into play, but emotions are not the bearing of whether justice is served or someone is righteous.
Both are based on an objective standard.
In fact there can be no justice if there is no objective standard. If laws and subsequent sentences were based on raw emotion or popular opinion, there is by definition no justice to be found. I may disagree with the facts or disagree with the judgment, but justice can’t be based on emotion, popular opinion or the latest cause to sweep a country.
It must be based on the objective laws that are stated.
So my prayer in the Kyle Rittenhouse case (and every case, for that matter) is that the action is measured against the law and when that is adequately measured the subsequent judgment is just because the law has been rightly applied.
This past Sunday in the Christian church year was “Last Judgment.” While we didn’t emphasize in our setting, it is a reflection on the day Christ will return and will publicly declare individuals righteous or unrighteous and determine the consequence of heaven or hell.
The sobering reminder of God’s justice is that it is based on his law and his standard is that all obey that law perfectly (righteous). He says in Leviticus 19:2: “Be perfect as I the Lord your God am perfect.”
We all know this standard is impossible to keep. For James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
No matter how you feel about it, all of us are law breakers and deserve to be sent away from God forever in hell. This would be “just” (i.e. we break the law, the wages of sin is death.). This would be completely fair.
The amazing thing about the Last Judgment is that anyone would be acquitted as “not guilty” and be invited to heaven. Is it because God “feels” some should be saved?
No, salvation is still an objective standard.
Faith in Jesus applies the work of Jesus to our account.
Like Abraham of Genesis 15:6 “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
Abraham believed God’s promise and God credited to him the status of righteous (one who rightly adhered to the law).
The same promise is given to all who believe in Jesus. Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
God doesn’t change his standard. He objectively looks at us and declares us not guilty not because of our life performance, but because he has applied the righteous life of Christ to our account. He sees Christ’s perfection and invites us to heaven rather than sending us to hell.
Romans 3:21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
This devotion got a little deep…but I pray it makes this point. Pray for justice in our land, for wisdom and clarity of mind for all who are tasked to administer it. Be grateful that God is not swayed away from justice but chose to cover our lack of righteousness with the righteousness of Jesus. You are righteous and you will receive justice.
Apply: Pray for justice in our land. Thank God for being a God of love and justice for you!
Prayer: Thank you for applying the work of Jesus to my account. I recognize my lack of righteousness deserves you condemnation, but I trust that the blood of Jesus and his righteousness cover all my sins. AMEN.
Believe Week 9: God, how do you want me to use your money?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 9: Stewardship”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Are you a thief?
I would guess many of you would answer, “I’ve never stolen anything in my life!”
Are you a tither? (A person who gives 10% of their income to the Lord through their local church)
I would guess many of you would answer, “I can’t afford to do that.”
Did you know that God spoke through the Old Testament Prophet Malachi to call out the thieves in Israel? Were they robbing from their neighbors? Were they shoplifting from the local market? Or were they telling their employer they were working a full day and only working half?
Nope.
They were stealing from God. How? Here’s God’s word through Malachi 3:6-9:
6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.
Here’s a few observations:
- The whole community was under a curse because they were not giving the tithe to the Lord. Collectively they had grown complacent.
- The community had turned away from the Lord…but what was standing in the way of them returning to the Lord was giving of the tithe.
Was God broke that he need some offerings?
No, God knew that the issue was the hearts of his people were more in love with their material wealth than they were with him. They could not return to him and love him with all their heart if their hearts were still loving money. Giving the 10% was much more than an amount of money, it was a statement of trust. The tithe is reflective of the truth that everything everything I am and everything I own belong to God!
When I truly believe this, I ask the question, “God, what do you want me to do with the wealth you have given me?” And God says, “Return to me the tithe, 10%, as a statement of your faith and obedience. Give your offerings as you have freely received, freely give.”
May I be the voice of Malachi to you today and challenge your heart as Malachi challenges mine to a) remember everything…EVERYTHING…you have is God’s and b) follow his direction how he wants HIS money to be managed.
But here’s the great thing. God invites us to TEST him and his promise. Malachi continues (3:10-12) 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
Too often we think of our regular giving/tithe as a “burden” or “obligation” or something that we “can’t afford.”
May I suggest you can’t afford NOT to give the tithe. God invites you to test him and see if he will not bless you as you give to him – not out of compulsion but because of a heart that loves God FIRST above all else…including your money.
Apply: Take a three month challenge (November, December, January). First figure out what percentage of your before tax income (give to God before giving to Caesar) you are currently giving to the Lord through your local church (this is God’s design for the tithe to be the mechanism to support the kingdom work of your local church). Develop a plan over the next three months to be at 10% by February. If you are currently at 10%, I pray you are experiencing the blessing of it and I’d love to hear your stories. I am convinced in three months you will see God’s blessing even more fully in your lives…not because you are giving more, but because your heart is focused on HIS love more!
Prayer: We give you but your own…whatever the gift may be. All that we have is yours alone…a TRUST, O Lord, from you. Forgive our greed and robbery, fill our hearts with trust and love. Be faithful to your promise as we test you in giving the full tithe and offerings to you. AMEN.
Believe Week 9: God, what do you want me to do with my body?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 9: Stewardship”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
What would you do to your home if you knew Jesus was going to physically visit you tomorrow?
Perhaps some of you would say, “You know what, he already knows how I live, no need to clean up.”
Others would initiate a “full court press” to clean the whole house, the yard, and ensure that the house where Jesus would visit was in its top form.
I would say the latter would be my tendency.
So how come we don’t…or at least don’t very well or very often.
Probably because the last person we expect to visit us physically would be our Lord Jesus.
Sure we remember his promise is that he is with us always.
Sure we remember that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there.
Sure we remember nothing can separate us from Jesus.
But does it change anything?
Probably not as much as we would think it should.
We are busy. We have things to do. We don’t have time to waste and the list goes on.
Here’s the truth I invite us to consider today from 1 Corinthians 6:19.
Jesus actually is dwelling with you…in your OWN body!
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
You see our bodies aren’t just attached to our soul for us to do with our bodies as WE desire. In fact God gave us our bodies and all its abilities and senses to do as God desires.
This week under the theme of stewardship, we are asking different questions. When we realize Jesus has taken up residence in my body…when I realize that I was bought at a tremendous price, I realize that I need to ask a new question, “God, what do you want me to do with my body?”
Luther would say, (Explanation to the First Article): For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.
When we realize our bodies were bought at a price and are the dwelling place of our Savior, it is our duty to use our energy and abilities to give thanks to God through the actions we do every day. It is our duty to use our lips and our voices to sing and speak the praise of God. It is our duty to use what God has entrusted to us to serve others. It is our duty to use our mind to obey the words and commands of Him who bought us with his very body and blood. It is a duty that is not burdensome, but a natural response to the goodness we have been shown.
Enjoy having an awareness today that you too have Jesus himself residing in your heart and soul. Let today represent him to others.
Apply: What small change might you make today to better care physically for your body (take a walk, eat something more healthy, take daily vitamins, etc. Form a new habit to better care for the body God has given to you and in which he has taken up residence!
Prayer: Thank you for fearfully and wonderfully making me. Thank you for purchasing me with the body and blood of your Son, that I might be your own and every day, now and always honor you with my body. AMEN.