Tonight as I was putting Eli to bed he asked me a funny question. We were talking about Easter and how Jesus didn't stay dead but was raised up and went to Heaven. "Mommy, whats Jesus doing up there?" he asked. "What do you mean?" I said. "What is He doing up in Heaven?" he asked again. "Well, why don't you ask Him?" "Jesus, what are you up to?" Eli asked. When I asked Him what God said he answered, "Jesus said He is sitting next to the Father. Mommy, who is the Father?" Whoa. It's one thing for a child to answer a question like that when they have certainly heard the answer before at least once...but to not understand what Jesus meant when He said the Father? I knew He was hearing God (plus that answer is very biblical). So we talked about how the Father is actually Jesus' Daddy and how He is our Daddy too. And tonight became a priceless memory in my life and a glimpse into Heaven through the eyes of my little man.
Lately I have been thinking about and talking a lot about Heaven. I've read 2 books about people who went to heaven and came back to life, Dean Braxton wrote "
In Heaven, Experiencing the Throne of God" and then the little boy from "
Heaven is for Real". I have been having a great time processing all the info and looking at my life through the reality of heaven...First that Heaven is a REAL place where you will go if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Second, that I want to live in the mindset of Heaven. Meaning, if it doesn't exist there, I don't want it here. For instance, struggles with things like pride, control or fear do not exist when you are face to face with God so I want to completely remove them from my life now. I really believe that God has said all through the Bible that we can bring the kingdom of God here to Earth. It may not be completely but I sure want to try!!
I'm compelled by what Dean Braxton said about his experience in Heaven. He had a complication during a surgery and was in cardiac arrest for an hour and forty-five minutes...meaning he was dead for almost 2 hours before he came back to life. When he came back to life he recounted his experience of meeting Jesus and what Heaven is like. He has countless scriptures to back his experience, although the medical records are probably proof enough. Dean summed Heaven up by saying, "What makes Heaven so wonderful, so breathtaking, so enjoyable is not what the landscape looks like or the buildings, food, etc. What makes it so amazing is that the Father is there and Jesus is there. That's why you want to go. Because where Jesus and the Father are is the best place there is." Oh God, would you be MORE real to me!
I have had a lot of experiences where God has proved Himself to be VERY real to me. I've seen crazy healings, legs grow out, backs move and scoliosis get healed, dramatic deliverances and salvations. But through it all my heart can still grow dull toward the Lord. The thrill of the power of God can where off. Right now we are seeing a couple of healings a week through our youth ministry. Every time is amazing but it can become a little routine to me (I hope thats ok to admit here). About 2 months ago God put this prayer in my mouth. It just sort of came out one day, "God, would you be MORE real to me then I have ever known or seen before!" I so do not want to grow dull to my Daddy in Heaven. I want my heart to stay tender before Him. And I fully believe that there is more to God than I can or could EVER fully experience here on Earth. Thats what Eternity is for! So I can pray that prayer every day from now until I die, and God can answer that prayer every day for the rest of my days on Earth and I STILL wouldn't know or experience all of Him!
God is so so so so good. He is so so so so loving and so so so so so accepting of who we are. In fact, I think He is beyond accepting. To accept us is as if to say that He could have settled in some way. I can accept that my hair is brown and thats the way its going to be. God the Father goes BEYOND accepting and approving us. He loves and delights in us. He is excited to be around us. He loves and LIKES us. He truly loves us like He loves Jesus...and for those of us who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior He actually SEES Jesus in us! Whoa! No matter what sin you might have just committed the Father actually SEES Jesus in you! And He is abundantly ready, willing, and able to supply you with WHATEVER you need! Need to feel good about yourself? Ask the Father! Need money? Ask the Father...who gives generously by the way. Need favor in a relationship? Ask the Father! Our Daddy is desperate to be intimately involved in our lives! In a way that is pure and overflowing with love! He is so desperate to be involved with us that He actually gave His only son so that we could be made right with Him! Ok, I know I'm preaching now.
If Heaven is real...which I believe with all my heart that it is, then we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us if there is any way we can live with more Heaven in mind in our daily lives now. And God, would you be MORE real to me today then yesterday...then ever before!
Preach it!!
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