Our Biggest Blessing

On a beautiful day we can look up into the air and enjoy the cloud shapes or if we have time we can watch the birds both great and small. We learn from the Scriptures that this is “the first heaven.” Today we know that our universe is “the second heaven” and science is continually attempting to find out what it contains. Then there is “the third heaven,” somewhere beyond the universe, where God now lives. We may not have thought about it but where God is today will not be our Eternal home. Let’s take a close look at some of the facts we have been given by God about our new home. To start with we know that Christians are allowed to learn certain things that the unbeliever can never know. Jesus said; You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. Matt 13:11-12 (NLT). We may not be experts on our blessed eternal home but we have been given the privilege of knowing a few facts about heaven. Heaven is our BIGGEST blessing.

It’s true; we will never live where God rules from today. In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever. Heb 1:10-12 (NLT) God lives today where the Devil has worked his evil against God both with angels and with men. But Christians are going to see something wonderful in the future. God is going to move to a new place.  I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Rev 21:3, 5 (NLT) The new home of God will be in a new sacred place where there is no sin and there never was, nor ever will be. God is going to change his home TO LIVE with us. Wow!

Many people like to say that this old earth will be rebuilt into our eternal home. The Scriptures tell us something totally different. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.  Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13 (NLT.) Someday, God will get rid of everything that exists today and He will start over with everything brand new. Our new home will never be exposed to sin and because God is living with us, we will live in righteousness forever.

Our new world is going to be called heaven and it will be huge. A conservative estimate of size would probably be at least 4 million miles around the center of it. Remember that the capital city is the New Jerusalem and it is 1500 miles tall. A large city must sit on a good foundation and a proportionate earth would need to be at least 4 million miles around or bigger. The idea that we will remain on this small planet must come from the Devil who cannot create anything new himself. In fact, this earth and our old universe is so insignificant that the Old Testament says we will not even remember them at all. Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! Isaiah 65:17-18 (NLT) Our wonderful God is unlimited and He has great plans for our future.

The fact is that our God could not join us on this planet because it is far beneath the size required for God.  After all he holds the earth in his hand. But will God really live on earth? (No) Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 1 Kings 8:27 (NLT) Solomon knew that God was very big and he asked in his prayer only that God’s “name” would live in his beautiful temple. In the future, eternity will change by combining the world of God with the creation that God has waiting for us. This is a new work of God and it will be truly miraculous. It will include a great new city with gates and walls that have Hebrew names written on them. It bothers some people that the Jews will be memorialized in the New Jerusalem but it is very clear in the description of the city given in Revelation chapter 21:12-14. Even the Old Testament promises it; As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain, so will you always be my people, with a name that will never disappear,” says the Lord. Isaiah 66:22 (NLT). It is wonderful to be a servant of God on this earth because of our future.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. Phil 3:20-21 (NLT) This new place is what we dream about and it is large and beautiful. There has always been an intermediate time between the death of our earthly bodies and the receiving of our glorious new bodies. This time of waiting may be the reason many people think they will be a disembodied soul floating around in some cloudy place. This popular idea is gives a totally wrong view of eternity. The Bible gives us some facts about the great city where Christians will live some day and it is made of many fabulous materials and we will live in great mansions.

Everything will be different. The first thing mentioned is the missing oceans. The old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. Rev 21:1 (NLT). Most of the earth today is covered by water because the sin of people caused God to bring about the great flood. Maybe there are no oceans on the new earth because there never was any sin? We know that it will be a happy place because there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. Rev 21:4 (NLT). This means there will be no graveyards or any need for lineage or family trees. Everyone has heard about the gates of our city. The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. Rev 21:21 (NLT). Some people do not believe in twelve pearls of this size. If they cannot believe in the huge pearls or the street of pure gold then they probably cannot believe that God has saved us from our own sinful life. They probably don’t believe that giving up earthly things to serve God will be well worth the effort.

In our future are unlimited wonders that we cannot explain to anyone on this earth. Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever. Rev 22:1-5 (NLT). The servants of God must learn to believe anything He says and rejoice in the reality of what we know our Heavenly Father will give us someday. Heaven is our BIGGEST blessing.

A Universe of Truth

Our vast cosmos contained nothing but God’s truth at its beginning. It is a fact that when God created our reality it contained only complete truthfulness. It was a perfect reality until the Devil came into it and brought dishonesty, sickness and every other kind of treachery. However, we should not despair because God’s truth is still the foundation of all creation and He is always in control. The entire universe would disappear into nothingness if truth were removed. When the Almighty creates anything it will necessarily be full of truth because He is truth. Humans are aware that they need to be rescued from the clutches of the Devil. The good news is that God has created a plan that can rescue us. Unfortunately, humans do not always seek the acceptable plan of salvation. Just like every other thing that God does His plan is completely full of the truth therefore we must learn about truth. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. Psalms 25:10 (NLT)

God’s plan for our entrance into his truth comes to us in the form of a covenant. In everyday language, the agreement is that God will rescue us from eternal damnation if we will devote our life to serving him as our Master. Every part of this covenant is important when we seek to live in the truth because we are obligated to fulfill our part of the gospel contract. Apparently when the protestant church separated from the Catholics they felt that their freedom from man’s religion and enjoying the grace of God required nothing from the individual. The Church is in error when they teach that we have no responsibility for our salvation. Some people even think they are doing God a favor when they serve him. The truth is that we are required to yield ourselves to the direction of God’s spirit. If we fail to do this the covenant is violated and salvation is impossible. John said it this way; You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) Romans 8:9 (NLT) Unfortunately, many church people today remind us of the expression “you can’t stand the truth.”

Humans are born ignorant of the truth of God. During our life we are expected to learn the truth and to become the truth that lives here on the earth. The scripture says that our peaceful and righteous lives will cause truth to spring up. Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. Psalms 85:10-11 (NLT) Our godly life sounds so wonderful when the psalmist writes about it. Christians are the product of God’s truth on this earth. This reality is available to anyone that accepts the Gospel into their everyday life. Our God looks down on us with great mercy in his heart. His grace has done everything it possibly can to provide us access to his truth.  We can fully believe in the Lord. For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. Psalms 33:4-5 (NLT) May every person receive the Savior as our Lord.

The truth is precious to us and we must be protected after receiving it. In the following verse we see that the truth (called his faithful promises) will give us complete protection. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalms 91:2-4 (NLT) It only makes sense that after the Lord rescues us, he would keep us in safety as we serve him.  Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. Psalms 86:11-13 (NLT) How exciting that we are rescued and then protected.

In the New Testament we find other things that the truth does for us. Because we are born into the slavery of sin, all of us must find a way to escape. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NLT) It is clear that we must have the truth in our lives if we wish to find freedom from sin. As in other places we are told that Christians must remain faithful all our lives. Just knowing the truth is not enough. “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” James 2:18 (NLT) It is necessary for the truth to be seen and felt by the people that our part of our lives. Several places in the New Testament we are told to obey God in the truth. Peter said; You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. 1 Peter 1:22 (NLT)

When a Christian lives their life filled with truth we can easily identify them as a Spirit filled person. They are always a blessing to other Christians. Of course, people of the world see a Christian and have a restless feeling come over them. According to the Scriptures; Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. 2 Cor 2:15-16 (NLT) In other words, we are not like the other people who are a part of this world. This is because our thinking is not what we were born with and our life has changed. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Eph 4:21-24 (NLT)

Proof that we have truth in our life is many times ignored. The Scripture says that love is the evidence we must look for. Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 1 John 3:18-19 (NLT) This is a major fact that many of us are overlooking in our lives. Consider this next verse; If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 1 John 3:14 (NLT) Love is the bench mark that we look for in a “Christian” and sadly it is missing in many church people today. The religious organization cannot provide real heartfelt love in its members. This is a real individual responsibility that each of us must seek God about. Without help from the Spirit it cannot be a reality in our feelings about other people.

The great news is that someday we will live with God in heaven. This will be truly entering the land of truth. Forever more there will be nothing around us but the truth. Jesus asked the father to; Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. John 17:17-20 (NLT) Our heavenly walk begins here on earth and we should be living for God always. It is not difficult because the Spirit guides us. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. John 16:13 (NLT) Jesus is our everything and he said; I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6

The New Testament contains the truth of a new life available to humans; God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.  But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 1 Thess 4:7-9 (NLT) God is the truth and we must learn to restrain ourselves now in order to live forever in the beauty of God’s kingdom.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.  So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thess 4:16-18 (NLT)