Do you Have a Home in Heaven?

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Will heaven be your home?  How do you suppose people would answer that question?  “Well, I hope I will make it to heaven one day.”  “I would really like for heaven to be my home, but I’m not sure.  I hope so.”  “There’s no way anyone can really know for sure.”  “I think I’ll probably make it, because I’ve been a pretty good person and tried to help people in life.”  “I think heaven will be my home because the good things I’ve done are more than the bad things.”

When it comes to eternal life and having heaven as an eternal home, there is such incredible uncertainty out there.  This is what I know, that eternity is too long to speculate on and it’s too long to take a chance one way or the other.  When you step out of this world one day, you will never make a return trip here, and whereever you have secured your place in eternity, it will be done here and not there, and there’s no crossing over.

Luke 16:25-26 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

So when you leave, you’re not coming back, and whereever you go, that’s where you will always be.  In one place there is everlasting joy, and in the other, everlasting torment.  By faith, you can make a choice, but without an exercise of faith and belief, your decision has already been made.  Here’s the question again, Will heaven be your home?  Let me tell you that it can be!  It can be only because Jesus made a way for it to be.  He is the one who has opened the door.  In fact, in John 10 He said, “I am the door.”  In John 14 He said, “I am the way.”  It doesn’t matter who you are, Jesus is the only one who can help you make heaven your home.  He came from heaven and then ascended back to heaven making a way through His sacrifice on the cross for our sins.  The only way to make certain that heaven is your home is by allowing Jesus to make His home in you.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

By faith, Jesus must have a home in you before you can ever have the hope of having a home in heaven.  It’s all about surrendering your life to Him.  He knocks on the door of your heart and you let Him come in.  Why not right now open up your heart and let Savior Jesus come in?  What’s stopping you?  Let Him come in and live in you!

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Don’t Get Caught!

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Don’t get caught in the controversy!  Whether you know it or not, you are surrounded by people who are caught or trapped in some kind of controversy, argument, or unsettled dispute.  And if you’re not careful, those same people may unknowingly drag you right into it with them.  For what?  They may actually have a spirit of controversy and conflict on them.  That may be the way they were raised up or it may yet be the best devise the devil has used against them so far, but what a waste of time and what an incredible blindness that kills the spiritual progress of so many people.  You need to be aware of this very real entangling and twisting spirit that consumes a lot of people.

2 Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of [this] life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares [us,] and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Lay aside that dispute today because you don’t have to win the argument or be the conquering one in the controversy.  You don’t have time to be arguing over what has no eternal significance.  Let that conflict be put away and move on with your mission to honor Jesus Christ.  Be humble and let it go and be free from the strife and contention that can hold on to you for months and years.  Listen, the devil wants everything to be a big deal so that you end up accomplishing nothing.  Who is in charge?  Let that go.  Who gets recognized?  Let that go.  Who is right?  Let that go and move on.  Agree to disagree and then move on with joy and goodness and blessings.  Oh how we still need to learn that very little is worth arguing over and spending precious time on.  Whatever it is, it most often best to lay it aside and keep running the race that is set before you.

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It’s TIME!

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How is your walk with God? Are you able to break away from those rigid and hard set plans and schedule to go where He says and do what He says? That’s a challenge, but that is where the newness of life is and that’s where exciting testimonies come from. That is one way to break the fallow ground of the heart. You can’t live on the same worn path and expect revival, you must follow Him! It’s time to take an uncomfortable step in faith and start sowing in righteousness and God’s word promises, you will not regret it. Be ready today because God is speaking to you.

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Remember!

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When God delivers you from the bondage you once lived in and defeats all that comes against you, remember who He is! God has not moved so mightily in your life because you are such an amazing person, rather He saw your helpless condition and had mercy on you. When God targets you with His grace, remember He has chosen you, so walk holy and humbly in His presence! Whatever victory you experience in your life, remember, it is the Lord your God!

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The Plague of the Heart

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With great wisdom King Solomon prayed a prayer of dedication to Holy God as the people of Israel were gathered.  In his prayer, he outlined 7 very possible scenarios Israel would experience in the future, and those scenarios would require the hearing and forgiving of God to restore them.  This plea to God included relationships, captivity, weather, strangers, and something stood out to me.  Solomon called it “the plague of the heart.”  Do you know what a plague of the heart is and have you ever experienced it?  What if what is going on in your life right now is the result of a personal plague of your heart?  Wouldn’t you want to know?  Wouldn’t you want to be healed from that plague?  Just read Solomon’s plea to God.

“When there is famine in the land, pestilence [or] blight [or] mildew, locusts [or] grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness [there is;] 38 “whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, [or] by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 “then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 “that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.”  I Kings 8:37-40. NKJV

You and I have heard about a plague in the land such as locust and grasshoppers and droughts, but what is this plague of the heart?  A plague of the heart is allowed to get our attention.  It’s allowed by God to let us know something on the inside isn’t operating as it should.  It’s allowed many times to draw us back into fellowship with our God.  Think about it, some today are plagued with worry and anxiety, while others suffer from a plague of depression and despair.  Some experience the plague of addictions that won’t let go and other have a plague of guilt and shame.  There are all types of plagues of the heart that keep you from living the life purchased for you on the cross.  What is that plague for you?  It could be a mindset that constantly tells you, you will never be good enough.  Some are plagued with depressing thoughts of sickness and in their minds they will always be sick.  Some are plagued with desires that will never let them go free and some have fears that kills a life of faith.  Unforgiveness and grudges will plague your heart.  Discontentment will plague you and harass you until the day you die should you allow it.  Unconfessed sins always plagues the human heart.

No matter how long the plague has devastated the land, God’s forgiveness and healing rain can turn it around.  Solomon said, “whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone…then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know…”  Oh, that we might search ourselves today to see if there is a plague keeping us from God’s great blessings.  Whoever reads this, you need to know the answer is with God alone.  He alone can heal and restore the heart to be a fruitful place once again.

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Fellowship and Forgiveness

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There are certain things in life that just go together, and when you think of one, you automatically think of the other.  For instance, if I said, “peanut butter” you would think “jelly,” because they have always gone together.  Then there is “macaroni” and “cheese.”  But there are other things that go together other than food items that are even more critical to know about and understand.  Fellowship and forgiveness will always go together and they can’t be separated.  Think about it for minute, in order for any and every relationship to experience a deeper level of fellowship, forgiveness will always be a necessary element.  Why?  Because the moment something happens in that relationship, it can come back together and be in the same room together, but it cannot experience the joy and blessing of fellowship until forgiveness is offered and received.

This is the sad reality for many relationships today in the church and out of it.  The relationship is still there, but the fellowship is broken because forgiveness is withheld.  You know what that means, right?  It means you have got to forgive and I have got to forgive.  Unforgiveness will act like a dam holding back the blessings of God and the blessings and fullness a relationship could experience.  Unforgiveness will not sit dormant in our hearts, but it corrodes and turns our hearts bitter.

Colossians 3:12-13  “Therefore, as [the] elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also [must do.]” …

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Helpless Hummingbird

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As I walked into my house through the garage I notice a hummingbird flying back and forth at the window.  The hummingbird had mistakenly flown into the garage and must have thought it could go out through the garage window.  The hummingbird was blocked by the clear window pane and was flying back and forth as if that motion was going to somehow open the window.  It failed to see the huge garage door opening while continuing to fly frantically back and forth in front of the window.  I believe the bird would have labored to the death had I not come along and showed it the way.

The hummingbird’s efforts reminded me of our own futile efforts at times.  They way you want to go may only appear to be clear, when in reality it is blocked by an impenetrable barrier.  We too get so focused on the one way we want to go and become completely blind to the gaping opening God has for us.  We too need someone to come along and see our desperate plight and help us find God’s perfect way.

Let me ask you, do you feel trapped and exhausted?  Have you been focused on one thing so much you’ve become blind to the opening God has in so close to you the whole time?  If this is you, like David did, go to God with a simple prayer, “Lord, show me the way.”

Psalms 143:8-10 “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. 9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; In You I take shelter. 10 Teach me to do Your will, For You [are] my God; Your Spirit [is] good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” …

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You and God’s Pathway

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I have always enjoyed walking down pathways and trails in the woods to take in the beauty of nature.  When I was a young boy, my brother and I practically lived in the woods behind our house. We were the ones who made many of the pathways.  Some paths in the woods look heavily traveled, while some are overgrown and for whatever reason, avoided.  Some paths are narrow and others wide enough for bikes or even vehicles.  Pathways remind us of our own paths we must go down in life.  You are on a pathway right now.  We often cross paths with others, some only for a short time and some for many years, but you still have your own path to go on.  A good question to ask is, are you on the right path?  Are you more focused on someone else’s path than your own?  What happens when you get off your path?  This was something Jesus addressed with each of His followers, but especially with Peter.

John 21:20-22 “Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what [about] this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what [is that] to you? You follow Me.”

We are more like Peter than we want to admit.  Peter was strong and independent, but he was also one who took notice of other men, especially men who walked in the faith.  Just before this correction in Peter’s pathway, Peter had really gone off on his own path.  Jesus had warned him not to follow before he was arrested in the garden, but Peter decided he knew better.  Disobedience always causes us to stray off the pathway God has for us, while at other times we wander off because of arrogance or the luring of the world.  We can only wonder what it was that caused Peter to look at John and ask, “But Lord, what about this man?”  Maybe Peter saw John as someone who always had it together spiritually, but we don’t know.  What we do know is that Jesus didn’t want Peter to concern himself with John’s path.  He wanted Peter to focus on following Him and Him alone.

Let me ask you, are you focusing more on someone else’s path than your own?  If so, you can easily go off course.  It’s dangerous to get off of God’s approved and ordained path for your life.  What is outside of God’s pathway for your life?  It’s the wilderness!  So whatever you do, stay on God’s pathway for your life.

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Is That Necessary?

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If you find certain things in life necessary, you’re in good company because there were moments that even Jesus did things out of necessity.  One thing Jesus found necessary was making a home visit to a well-known and very despised man named Zacchaeus.  He was the very rich “wee-little” Jewish man who worked for the Romans gathering taxes from his own people and charging them more than they owed and he took extreme advantage of them earning the hatred.  You could imagine that he and his family were never welcomed or invited to weddings or any other celebration of the Jews.  He was used by the Romans and hated by the Jews, but Jesus still said, “I must stay at your house.”  As Jesus walked through the city of Jericho on His way to Jerusalem He spotted Zacchaeus watching from his perched position in a tree.  The scriptures says,

               “And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that [way.]  And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste(hurry) and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”  Luke 19:3-5

I think we can imagine the growls and groans coming from those walking and listening to Jesus as He called Zacchaeus to come down.  “And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, that He has gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.” V. 7   What did they see?  Those with Jesus saw a mistake instead of mercy, but Jesus saw it as necessary, but why?  Why not have a quick conversation on the street and head on down the road?  Why go to the sinner’s house for fellowship?  Jesus said, “I must stay at your house.”  Think about it, most likely no one outside of the immediate family had ever stepped foot in Zacchaeus’ house.  Everyone knew that just by going there or by any association with Zacchaeus meant you’d be looked down on, questioned about your loyalty to the people, and most likely labeled as a friend of the Romans.

But there’s something you need to see because Jesus saw it.  Those walking with Jesus didn’t see what Jesus saw or else they would have kept their mouths closed.  Jesus saw a man who was trying to save himself.  He saw a very self-centered man willing to be no one’s friend just to save himself.  He saw a man who, by his own actions, was a trader to his people and brought shame on his family.  I believe Jesus also saw a man who hated himself and wanted a way out and wanted to change.

I can promise you there are so many people today who want to change just like Zacchaeus, but never take advantage of opportunities like he did.  Jesus saw it necessary to go to Zacchaeus’ house to show us that no matter who you are, if you seek Him, He will be found by you.  Jesus saw it necessary to go to his house to show us in all our best efforts we can’t save ourselves.  Ultimately, the necessity was on the part of Zacchaeus, because Jesus was headed up that Jericho road to meet the necessity of the cross.

But there’s more application here because Jesus saw it necessary to go to his house to show us He is never content to have a relationship with us publicly and not have one with us privately.  Jesus doesn’t want a church house relationship with you unless He can have a relationship with you in your house.   Think about it, real faith in God doesn’t stop outside of our homes, nor are we to confine it to our church house, but real faith always welcomes and invites Christ into the home.

Jesus could have touched Zacchaeus and changed his life right there in the tree or on that street, but Jesus wanted to go to his house to touch and save the whole family.  “And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.”  V. 9  Those walking with Jesus only saw a rogue rich Jew, but Jesus saw a “son of Abraham” who wanted to changed, but didn’t know how.

When you let God in your house, life changes!  When you open the door of your heart and mind and let God in, life changes for the better!  I’m not talking about putting up crosses on the walls of your house and placing a Bible on the coffee table, but Jesus wants to come all the way into the house of your heart and life.  Let Him in!

If you are reading this and don’t like what you’ve become and the decisions you’ve made in life, let God’s power change you today.  “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.  “Who is the King of glory?  The LORD strong and might, The LORD mighty in battle.” Psalm 24:7-8

THIS IS NECESSARY—THAT JESUS COMES INTO YOUR LIFE(HOUSE)!

HERE’S HOW TO LET HIM IN.

COME DOWN FROM WHERE YOU ARE—HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD!

BY FAITH MAKE THIS DECLARATION!  “Holy Father, I hear You speaking to me today and I want you to come and change my life.  I’m always reminded of the shameful things I’ve done in my life and I don’t like who I’ve become and what I have done.  Father, I have tried to change, but I always end up back where I was, so today, I turn everything over to You.  I believe You are the only One who can change me.  I believe Jesus is the Son of God.  I believe Jesus, you came to die on the cross for all my sins.  And I believe that You love me and can change me, so I open the door of my life the best I know how and I invite You to come into my life.  Forgive me for what I have done and make me who You want me to be.  Let what you did for me on the cross take full effect in my life.  From this point forward, I will live my life for You and I ask this and receive this gift of eternal life in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

I PRAISE GOD FOR YOU!

 

 

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