Author: TimMaynard

BEYOND – Day 8

We entertain many misunderstandings about Heaven. Some we were taught. Sometimes we allow our thoughts about eternal life to deteriorate into syrupy, sentimentality or unrealistic pictures of angels wings and quiet music.

Some of us allow our thoughts of Heaven to focus on a place “out there” that has no real line of connection to our reality today. Satan delights to deceive us into thinking incorrectly about this promised place that awaits God’s children. I think that’s because he knows if we get it right it will radically change us and how we see the world.

So it serves his purpose to keep us confused if he can: thinking Heaven is just a state of mind; that Heaven is floating around all day on a white cloud… forever; that in the end everybody goes there.

Or that Heaven is just a continuation of earth’s comforts and joy… to the Nth degree. We cannot imagine.

I still remember the impact of seeing the ocean for the first time. I grew up with ponds and rivers and lakes and streams. And as a child I had in my child’s mind come to conclude that crossing the Ohio River was the largest a body of water got.

And then I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and for the first time saw waves taller than me and an expanse of water so vast I could not see the end. My perspective changed that day. Playing in the stream near my house when I returned home was no longer as fun as it used to be.

So will be our first glimpse of glory. The pleasures of earth will pale in comparison to the glory that will be revealed. Comparing earth to Heaven is much more complicated than comparing an ocean of water to a runoff stream in a street-side culvert, but it begins to take us toward the reality that “eye has not seen; ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)


FOR MEMORIZATION: “But our citizenship is in heaven….” Philippians 3:20

FOR REFLECTION: If everyone is not going to Heaven how can I be sure I am going?
Have you ever personally responded to God’s call to salvation? If not, would you today say, “Lord I repent of my sin and turn to Jesus alone for salvation. Come into my life. I receive you and bow to you as my Savior and my Lord. I will follow you and obey you. Thank you for taking my place at the cross. Thank you for making me new today and for the gift of eternal life. Through Jesus my Lord I pray.” Now tell someone you prayed that prayer. Do it today! Heaven awaits.

BEYOND – Day 7

For many people Heaven is more a concept or a state of mind than a real destination. When you know you are leaving on a trip for the islands or a tour of Alaska you plan to arrive at a real place and in a real time.

And yet many never think of Heaven with the intention and planning and anticipation of a trip to Hawaii or a cruise. We don’t dream about it, talk about it or hope for it. And yet that is precisely what we need to do!

Richard Baxter was a pastor who spent every day in pain. Numerous medical problems ranging from a hacking cough to uncontrolled nosebleeds to heart conditions plagued him.

And so, after preaching some sermons on our heavenly home he made a decision. For the rest of his life he would spend half an hour each day meditating on, thinking about and anticipating Heaven.

It changed his life. He credits these periods of meditation for delivering him from death’s door on several occasions. It became the happiest part of his day.

Now I know that giving up time scrolling our computers or phones or channel surfing seems a steep price but I wonder what a period of time each day thinking about Heaven would do to give perspective to us today. When we deliberately and obediently “set our minds on heavenly things not on earthly ones” (Colossians 3:2) the things of this earth find their proper place.

And we find peace.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “For the things which are seen are temporary but the things we cannot see are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

FOR REFLECTION: The old song says “There’s a land that is fairer than day and by faith we can see it afar….” By faith today give time to think about your heavenly home. It may just change your life!

BEYOND – Day 6

Perhaps you have been there as I have… as many have. You show up and either (1) you failed to make a reservation or (2) they lost it. Whichever, you’re locked out. No room. No place to stay. Your family looking at you with eyes of blame. On more than one occasion, I have walked into situations like that. And usually, it’s inconvenient at least and embarrassing at most. Either way, it’s no fun being turned away… especially if you thought your reservation was secured!

And yet, there’s something worse than not being given a hotel room when you need it… and that is to walk into eternity without a secure reservation having been made. There is no coming back from that. There is no begging the clerk to forgive your oversight. You’re just… lost.

It is one of the most precious promises in the Bible to hear Jesus say the familiar words, “Let not your hearts be troubled….” In that promise He tells of a provision that has already been made for those who follow and love Him. He promises, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” A place. In the Biblical context, the “place” He was speaking of would be a room that a bridegroom would build or have built onto his family’s home. When it was completed, he would return to his awaiting bride and the marriage ceremony would begin culminating with him taking her “to his father’s house” where they would live.

In the ensuing years of church history and hymn writing, that place became a “mansion just over the hilltop” where the singer says, “I want a gold one that’s silver lined.” There is really nothing in the Bible that promises such a mansion to the believer. Only a place. A prepared place. In the Father’s house.

Maybe we get this wrong. Maybe it’s not Jesus’ intention at all to talk about the “where” of our dwelling place, but that there will BE a place waiting. As the old Motel 6 ads used to end, “We’ll leave the lights on for ya!” Somebody’s expecting your arrival. There is a place. Maybe if we thought of it in our context today, Jesus was saying, “I’m going to make a reservation for you!”

There’s comfort in that. Our arrival in eternity may surprise us, but no one else… least of all God. There is a place made… a reservation paid for with the blood of the Lamb. It is secured and ready when the time comes for our “place” here on earth to end.  A place awaits.  A prepared place.

And forever, we will be at home with Jesus.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:3

FOR REFLECTION: What is the difference where we live in eternity… as long as Jesus dwells there with us? Think about what will mean the most to you when you first arrive in Heaven and find there is a place waiting there for you.

BEYOND – Day 5

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. Colossians 2:8 NLT

Most of us don’t consider ourselves philosophers. I certainly don’t. It was the most difficult, abstract, abstruse (I learned that word in philosophy 101), and unintelligible classes that I suffered through in seminary.

Some of that was because I had a head that was not yet prepared with the proper openings to understand it. I will also lay some blame at the feet of professors who were more concerned to speak to each other and to the “elite 8” of 97 students who might have understood what in the world they were saying!

But in recent years, I finally got it. Philosophy drives things. It drives how education is done in our culture and how textbooks get written that support it. It drives legislation. It drives our entertainment culture. It determines whether a young man from an underdeveloped village in North Africa will detonate a suicide vest, blowing himself into the presence of “Allah;” or so he believes. You have a philosophy. Your CHILDREN have a philosophy.

Now don’t misunderstand. You don’t have to be smart to be a philosopher. I’ve learned many aren’t. You don’t even have to be literate, much less a connoisseur of fine art.

You just have to be alive. Your philosophy seeps into your thinking, your decision-making capabilities and your very soul from the world around you.

For many people in the 21st century, naturalism is the soup of the day. It is worldwide, one of the most dominant of modern philosophical positions. It says in essence, that nothing is real that you can’t see, touch, or experience with your senses or measure in a scientific process. Imagine we live life in a box and nothing outside the box matters or is real. The material world is all that’s real and all that really matters. This by default eliminates the possibility of miracles, a resurrection or any intervention by “God.”

And this philosophical naturalism has impacted the viewpoint on two ends of an important spectrum: where do we come from (origins) and where are we going (destiny)? We have basically burnt the bridge at both ends and stranded ourselves in the middle… not knowing where we came from or where we are going.

Here’s what I believe: you cannot begin to live life as you should unless you can confidently answer both of those questions. We have given our young people the proposition that life began at random, with a “bang” or an ooze or a random shot of radiation… but not with an intention and purpose set forth by a Creator God.

And we have confused them on where they are going when life is over. There is no afterlife, no eternity… we tell them. Just nothing. And then we wonder why adolescent suicides are the leading cause of death in our young people.

We have not only blocked off the access and exit points but we’ve set the bridge on fire and told them “good luck.”

I realize I run the risk with this column of doing exactly what I said my profs did to me… and fear I have written an “abstruse” article. But it goes to a point: why is it important that we drill into our children and young people the reality that there is an eternal home waiting? And why is it important that we tell them that they came from a loving Father’s purpose and intention when He created them?

Because, not only is life not worth living if we don’t know these things…
…it can’t be lived at all.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2

FOR REFLECTION: Think through and become aware of your own understandings of where we came from and where we’re going. Are your thoughts more informed by “earthly philosophies” or by the truth of the Word of God?

BEYOND – Day 4

Through the lens of understanding in Biblical times, informed somewhat by Roman and Greek thought, the idea settled that “heaven” was actually three “layers.” The first layer was the atmosphere around us; the blue sky we can see with our eyes. The second layer was beyond that, which was the home of the stars, constellations and sun and moon.

The third layer however, was unseeable, unknowable and uninhabitable, at least by human beings. It was the place of God’s abode… the home of heaven. We would also add, due to the explorations of modern space technology that the “second” heaven (planets and stars and sun and galaxies) was immeasurable, at least by our instruments.

So when Paul recounts in 2 Corinthians 12, that he had been caught up, either literally or in a vision, he didn’t know which, into the “third heaven,” he was not saying he took a voyage into outer space. He was transported to the throne room of Heaven itself and there was told things he was never to talk about… never to reveal.

But when John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos, was caught up into Heaven in the spirit, he came back with a report that was to be written down and shared with everyone. We call that report The Book of Revelation.

In this “book of revealing,” John saw Heaven’s throne before him with his own eyes. Revelation 4 and 5 describe in great detail the attendants and worshipers around the throne as well as the One in the center of it all… the Lamb who was slain.

From the Bible’s last book, we learn some things about heaven that are important to remember.

First, we learn that “the Lamb is (already and always) on His throne.” We and Heaven itself worship the One who was and is and is to come. He is eternally enthroned and the worship has been ongoing.

Second, since He is on His throne nothing escapes His notice and care… even the tears He will PERSONALLY wipe from our eyes.

Third, as our Lamb and reconciler, our presence in Heaven is insured because His sacrifice has been received and is pleasing to the Father. His place securely on the throne GUARANTEES His followers access to the eternal throne room.

Fourth, there is only ONE on the throne… not three. Sometimes our ideas of God and Trinity get a little confused. There will not be an old man, “The Father” sitting on the throne next to His good looking Son with some strange “holy smoke” (as one child put it) circling around (the Holy Spirit). That is a wrong picture. There is one on the throne… the Lamb who was slain.

He is the centerpiece of Heaven… the honored focus… the Sovereign occupant of who holds salvation in His hand.

He alone is worthy. And it will take eternity to tell Him that!


 

FOR MEMORIZATION: “And they were crying in a loud voice, `Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and glory and honor and praise.” Revelation 5:12

FOR REFLECTION: How have you told the Lamb today that He is the most worthy of all?

BEYOND – Day 3

We of all people have reason to look forward to the future. That’s not to say we wish to hurry life along to it’s culmination. And looking forward to heaven doesn’t mean we want, to quote an elderly gentleman I heard once, to “get on the bus today.”

But we have a hope. Paul struggled through much of his life and during one lengthy imprisonment, wrote to some friends who had been sending him support to feed and clothe him while incarcerated. In that letter he was very confessional, and said “I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far….”

Those were not the words of a despondent, hopeless suicide. It was not the words of a man who had given up on this life or who had lost reason for living. It was not a statement by a man with a death wish.

In fact, just before these verses Paul had said, “For to me to LIVE IS CHRIST, but to DIE IS GAIN….” (Philippians 1:21) He said, “I am torn (in a straight) between the two….”

When hope is secured, one may speak like that with assurance and confidence. Paul knew where he was going. He knew how the story ended. In fact, he had already been taken to the “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12: 2) and seen things that should not be shared or spoken about while there.

He knew he was going to that place when the trials of this life were over. You know, it’s amazing how our hope in eternity affects life today. C.S. Lewis put it this way, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.”

Paul thought much of “the next world.” His plan was to go and I’m sure there were days that he wished the bus would hurry! But he stayed and served and wrote and taught and loved and even followed Jesus to a martyr’s death.

And precisely because he couldn’t wait for heaven, he changed his world.

So can we.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

FOR REFLECTION: Can thinking about eternity for five minutes a day change how you live your life? If it did, would five minutes be worth it?

BEYOND Day 2

“The praises of Israel are your throne.” (Psalm 22:3, New Century Version)

Where does God live? That’s a question that, if you’re a parent, you have had to tackle at least once if not more often. And our answers vary. “Well, God lives in our hearts.” “God lives at church.” “God lives in Heaven.” On a sliding scale of “right” to “got no clue” we offer our thoughts to our curious little seeker.

But there is a correct response. The Bible answers it for us. God told David and his successor Solomon that He is too vast… to be contained in a building made by hands. He is also NOT physical, which means it is impossible to measure Him (at least by our metric).

While the Bible, especially the Old Testament, reveals where God does NOT live, it also reveals where He does. God inhabits… lives… makes His home in… the praises of His people. Perhaps the following verses will unpack this for us:

King James Bible:
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

International Standard Version
You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

Where does God dwell? Where is God most “at home?” Where is God enthroned? Answer: “On the praises of Israel (His people).” While many other things are speculative, one thing we know for certain about heaven is that GOD WILL BE CONTINUALLY PRAISED THERE. We will join in a song that has been sung in eternity since long before our birth and will continue through the ages of timelessness.

One unknown writer describes it this way:

“Praise is where God lives. It is His permanent address. Praise is His home element. He is at home in praise.”

This settles one of the vast mysteries which accompanies praise. Why is it that when we praise the Lord things change so rapidly? Why does healing come on wings of praise? Why do human emotions undergo such transition when praise is the choice? How are we to account for those things that accompany praise? The simple answer is: while God is everywhere present, He is not everywhere manifested. He is at home in praise and being at home, He manifests Himself best as God… God has an affinity for praise. He is enthroned and liberated to act mightily in praise. ” (quoted in David Jeremiah My Heart’s Desire)

God is at home not because of location in heaven. There is no such “location.” He is at home not just because angels are present because they are present everywhere.

God is at home in our praise and Heaven is the place where praise is best and continuously given by the angels, the elders and the surrounding countless throng of people from every “tribe, language and race and tongue.”

And the place where God is truly and ultimately…
… home.


 

FOR MEMORIZATION: “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” Ps 22:3

FOR REFLECTION: How can we bring Heaven down to earth today? What circumstances in your life need to be face right now with praise?

BEYOND – Day 1

“And He has set eternity in their hearts.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

We have always, deep in our bones and our soul, suspected it. We are not made for this world. There is something more, something enduring, something eternal awaiting us. There are longings never fulfilled that point beyond us to “something more.” There are beautiful experiences, places to visit, stirrings in our spirit that point beyond themselves into eternity.

But He has put eternity in their hearts. God did that. When we were originally dreamed, created, birthed, formed in our mother’s womb… before our eyes ever opened in the stark light of a delivery room in a hospital or in the warmth of a bed surrounded by midwife, family, and even friends… before the first breath of life filled our lungs, and before the first time we heard our mother’s voice… God put eternity in our hearts.

We are not human beings who occasionally are having a spiritual experience. That would be what the world would have us believe. That would be the story line of the earthbound, locked in a worldview that cannot explain and therefore, cannot allow for the possibility that a “beyond” exist.

We are spiritual beings… eternally existing. And we are for now, having a “human experience.” But as we are walking through this stark world, we are aware of something that the earliest Christians knew who were “looking for a city” whose builder and Maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10)

And so we have always suspected it. There is something beyond. When I got to dive the beautiful waters between Maui and Molokai, I was absolutely captivated by the beauty of the ocean water, the fish and sea turtles swimming, and the reefs around me.

But I knew I didn’t belong there. My oxygen was running out. I had to go home. A place beyond the water.

And one day, so shall we all.


Instead, they were longing for a better country–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.   Hebrews 11:16

FOR REFLECTION: How does remembering that you were made for eternity affect the way you will live your life today?

From Darkness to Dawn – Happy Easter!

Resurrection

New beginning.
Pain has purpose.
God is victorious.
We are redeemed.
Jesus is alive… alive… alive!
He lives so we also live.
Stone rolled away.
Angels announce,
“He is not here… He is risen!”
Soldiers faint and run.
Disciples confused and run.
Women terrified… and run.
Grave cloth left.
The World has changed.
Everything has changed.
Resurrection has come.
Sin is defeated.
Death is powerless.
Grave cannot sting.
Life cannot be overcome by death.
Angels visit.
Christ arose.
Christ appeared.
Christ is victorious.
Jesus is alive!
HE IS RISEN!
HE IS RISEN INDEED!


“He is not here! He is risen as he said!” Matthew 28:6

FOR REFLECTION: How will you celebrate this wonderful news… today?

 

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