Heaven Can't Wait

Heaven is a place that may or may not exist. We cannot prove it is there; although several people say they went there during a near death experience, came back to life on this earth and wrote a book to tell about what they saw.

If heaven is not a real place, then our view of eternity is dim and our troubles on earth are intensified and depressing. Paul mentions that, in Christ, our trials on earth are a drop in the bucket compared to eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17); but if there is no heaven, then tribulation is hopeless.

Believing in Heaven takes faith, which is hope for unseen things (Hebrews 11:1). Yet, we have more than blind faith. Jesus lived on earth, suffered crucifixion, died, rose again, lived on earth for about 40 more days, and then was translated to heaven in His immortal body in front of eye witnesses.

When we surrender our life to God in salvation, we are joint heirs with Jesus of everything pertaining to God's Kingdom, including heaven. We are freed from the penalty as well as the penchant to sin and freely given the righteousness of Christ in exchange (Romans 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

God calls us to remove from our life the distractions on this earth, which compete with our relationship with Him. He invites us to draw nearer to Him each day as He fills us through our entire being with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:19, Amplified Bible).

We will finally grasp the reality of heaven when we pass from this life into eternity. First, we have the privilege of abiding in the presence of God moment by moment for the rest of our life on earth. He satisfies our longing and fills our hungry soul (Psalm 107:9).

Prayer:

Father God, as we grow spiritually, our intimacy with You increases daily, and our unity with You is more focused and dominates our thoughts, words and deeds. When You are our delight, You put Your desires in our heart (Psalms 37:4), and You shower us with Your love and blessings. As we commune with You each day, Your Spirit fills us with the divine nature and character of Christ who dwells within us (Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4). We decrease and He increases as we surrender our life, goals, plans and desires to You (John 3:30).

You help us to reject a life imprisoned in the here and now on this earth. We no longer concentrate on the temporal, but keep the eternal in constant focus; give us a consuming love for eternal rewards; fill us with Your Spirit and Your presence and walk in us through every trial we face in this life. Help us to draw nearer to You, and to live in eternity now (John 17:8).

Thought for the Day:

Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus whom He sent, which begins with the moment of salvation and continues in everlasting life in God's presence. - John 17:3

Enoch Walked with God

"And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." - Genesis 5:22-24

Police statistics estimate that one person disappears per minute in the UK and USA. In Australia one person every 18 minutes is reported missing. It is the same around the world. Then there are those who disappear and are never reported as a statistic. Many are kidnapped, or die unnoticed and undiscovered. How many of those who disappear, like Enoch, walked with God and God translated them home? In His foreknowledge, God prepared a destiny and a destination for the soul of every person before He ever created the earth.

Enoch was the father of Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived; and the great grandfather of Noah. His claim to Biblical fame is that after his son was born, he “walked with God” for about three hundred years. This paints a portrait for us of two intimate friends unhindered by the lusts of the flesh and the world around them and totally immersed in one another’s fellowship (Amos 3:3). Scholars tell us that many of Enoch’s writings had the poetry of the Psalms and the wisdom of Proverbs.

Enoch was honorable, he loved mercy and He walked humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8). With his will totally submitted to his Lord, Enoch learned from God. As a man of faith, Enoch knew it was impossible to please God without trusting in Him. He also pleased God in his thoughts, words and deeds (Hebrews 11:5). This was the testimony he exhibited before God and his neighbors. He saw great visions from the Lord about heaven, Satan’s rebellion, worldly nations throughout the ages, as well as the consequences of wickedness and the rewards of the just. Enoch instructed his family in the ways of God.

Jude tells us that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam and that he prophesied about the Lord returning with His Saints and executing judgment on the ungodly for their unbelief (Jude 1:14-15). Enoch walked in the ways of the Lord and all went well with him and his descendents (Deuteronomy 5:33). He lived to the age of 365. He saw a vision of the great flood and told his children about it. Noah lived by his great grandfather’s example, and walked with God as well (Genesis 6:9). The more Enoch knew God, the more he loved Him, and his love for the world dwindled (1 John 2:15).

Enoch was a man of integrity and a pure heart. He saw righteousness flowing like water, and mercy scattered like dew over the whole earth. He longed to dwell with the righteous. He realized that the Lord strengthens the spirit of the righteous for the sake of His own righteousness, and that many see Heaven without tasting the sleep of death. He saw Christ as the light of the nations, the hope of troubled hearts, the name by which we are saved and the one, which the righteous lean upon without falling. He foresaw the destruction of the wicked and the peaceful dwelling place of the righteous.

Therefore, rather than allowing Enoch to enter heaven through the gates of endless sleep, God translated Him to Heaven and he did not see death (Ephesians 5:10; Hebrews 11:5). Like Enoch, Adam and Eve enjoyed the cool of the day in the garden walking with God (Genesis 3:8). God revealed Himself to Moses and the face of the deliverer of God’s people shone with the glory of the Lord (Exodus 34:35). Abraham walked with God (Genesis 24:40). Jesus walked with God and embodied God personified (John 14:7-9). God loves to walk with all of His Saints. We are His Temple and He communes with us every moment of the day by His indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to walk with You, commune with You, listen to Your wisdom and direction, and walk by Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. Reveal Yourself to us in Your secret places, and teach us to walk in Your ways (Palm 91:1). Your mercy is great as is Your patience with us. All of your powerful works are wondrous for us to behold. You reveal all things to Your Saints, to Your elect. You write all of our deeds in Your journals and nothing we do escapes Your sight. Let us walk in justice and righteousness for Your name’s sake now and forever, and if our ways please You, translate us to Heaven as well.

Thought for the Day:

If Enoch can walk with God in this devoted intimacy, we can too.

 

 

 

Thank you, Stephanie Bentley, for the use of your photo.