Heaven

Think for a minute about heaven.  We hear people talking about heaven in terms of a city, streets paved with gold, gates made from solid pearl, St. Peter standing at the gate, a book with a list of names written called the "Lamb's Book of Life" and a central throne with God sitting on it with angles tossing their crowns singing Holy, Holy, Holy.

I was driving along the road in my car and wondered aloud about what heaven will be like. 

Will there be neighborhoods with tree-lined roads and green lawns with no weeds, mansions that have been prepared for the faithful and birds singing and butterflies wafting about? 

Will there be bicycles and totally efficient, non-polluting cars and airplanes for travel?

Will there be tulips and tangerines, roses and radishes; or will we have fluffy ice cream and cotton candy?  Will stars be visible or will there be a forever day shining by the Glory of God.

As I continued to think about it I wondered how others in past generations and centuries though about it.  If I had been born in say, 1344 what would I have dreamed about heaven?  When I arrived and by chance saw airplanes, trains, giant ships, cars, electricity, air conditioning, smorgasbords and skyscrapers, I would think it was marvelous and beyond my comprehension.

But since mankind has invented all those things, been to the moon, harnessed the atom, transplanted hearts and kissed away the hurts of little children, it is not likely that heaven will be anything like that.  If we have already invented something on earth I doubt if God will furnish heaven with things that we can produce.

Regardless of the environmental furnishings of heaven, I believe what it will really be is an eternal presence in a face-to-face relationship with our Creator because He, through Jesus Christ, presented Himself as a sacrifice for us by the shedding of His blood, and then rising from death to destroy the hold that death held over us.  Being with Him forever will be heaven.  



Isaiah and Luke



Isaiah 53 (King James Version)

Isaiah 53

¹Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

²For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

³He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

⁸He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

⁹And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

¹¹He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

¹²Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Luke 22-23 (King James Version)

Luke 22

¹Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

²And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.

³Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

⁴And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.

⁵And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.

⁶And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.

⁷Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

⁸And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

⁹And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?

¹⁰And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.

¹¹And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

¹²And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

¹³And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

¹⁴And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.

¹⁵And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

¹⁶For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

¹⁷And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

¹⁸For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

¹⁹And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

²⁰Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

²¹But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

²²And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!

²³And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

²⁴And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

²⁵And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.

²⁶But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

²⁷For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

²⁸Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.

²⁹And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

³⁰That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

³²But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

³³And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

³⁴And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

³⁵And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

³⁶Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

³⁷For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

³⁸And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

³⁹And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

⁴⁰And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

⁴¹And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

⁴²Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

⁴³And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

⁴⁴And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

⁴⁵And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,

⁴⁶And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

⁴⁷And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.

⁴⁸But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

⁴⁹When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?

⁵⁰And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?

⁵³When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

⁵⁴Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.

⁵⁵And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.

⁵⁶But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.

⁵⁷And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.

⁵⁸And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.

⁵⁹And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.

⁶⁰And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.

⁶¹And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

⁶²And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

⁶³And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him.

⁶⁴And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?

⁶⁵And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

⁶⁶And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying,

⁶⁷Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:

⁶⁸And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.

⁶⁹Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

⁷⁰Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.

⁷¹And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.

Luke 23

¹And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.

²And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.

³And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.

⁴Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.

⁵And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

⁶When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean.

⁷And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.

⁸And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.

⁹Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

¹⁰And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.

¹¹And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

¹²And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

¹³And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

¹⁴Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:

¹⁵No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.

¹⁶I will therefore chastise him, and release him.

¹⁷(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)

¹⁸And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:

¹⁹(Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)

²⁰Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.

²¹But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.

²²And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.

²³And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.

²⁴And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.

²⁵And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

²⁶And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

²⁸But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

²⁹For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

³⁰Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

³¹For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

³²And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.

³³And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

³⁴Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

³⁵And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.

³⁶And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,

³⁷And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

³⁸And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

⁴⁰But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

⁴¹And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

⁴²And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

⁴³And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

⁴⁴And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

⁴⁵And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

⁴⁶And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

⁴⁸And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.

⁴⁹And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.

⁵⁰And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:

⁵¹(The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.

⁵²This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.

⁵³And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.

⁵⁴And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

⁵⁵And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

⁵⁶And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Cease fire to class warfare

Class warfare and class envy, what a tried and true tool of some who would pit Americans against each other based on their economic situations.  One opinion article in our little town's paper one Saturday was entitled, "Here's how to tell the middle class from the upper crust" and was an article that castigated the so-called "wealthy" as people who are too snobbish to care what happens to middle class Americans.  By the third column of the article the political motives of the writer became obvious with the question, "Why would any middle-class family support Republicans?"

Whether middle class or wealthy, or any political persuasion offered in America we should look at the trends in America during this current time and answer an important question.   I guess the thing I don't understand is how does it profit any politician, or the people who surround them, the unions and millions of dependent people who keep voting for dependency if the country becomes so shattered by bankruptcy and continued debt?  I understand that more federal agencies will be created and more bureaucracy will be needed to keep things going for awhile. But there is always a day of reckoning when the debt becomes due.

But what is the use of having any power over a country that is broken, with a destroyed military, fractured social system, and very few rich to foot the bill? I understand the theory and the implementation that started with in the Depression of the 1930's, but eventually the rich will be poor. All the money available will be redistributed and will run out. Stronger nations, China, India, Middle East will be able to overtake the country with little or no force. If there are 50 or 60 percent dependent on some facet of government welfare, or a substantial variety of government programs, it is for sure they will not fight to hold onto anything; they will not know how nor will they have the will to do so. The richest of the rich will have moved themselves and their operations out to another country long before the collapse, so what will the extreme left gain by destroying the American way of life, unless it is just the sheer satisfaction of destroying it because they take pleasure in doing so.

My Mother used to say about some people who tended to destroy themselves in the process of trying to hurt others was like "cutting off your nose to spite your face." It is like feeling sorry for the Menendez brothers because they are orphans.

If a liberal person aligns himself with the current values of liberalism he would say he wanted higher taxes, bigger government, more public officials and employees, more agencies with millions more public employees, larger, stronger unions, punishment for people who have money and social changes paid for by the government.  Now if that liberal person was the one who had the money for the government to tax, take and redistribute, and the same liberal "wealthy" person looked at the current debt, along with a long recession and unemployment as it is currently, I would hope that he  would wonder what was going to happen when his money was gone.  As well as wonder about the state of his life when the unions have shut down his business, all the social security is gone, Medicare is gone and the Chinese military is marching over the hill. 

He might say, "What was in it for me?"  What was in it for any of us, except failure.  It matters not if we are rich or middle class, when a democratic form of government begins to feed upon itself and demand from those who have worked and produced the fruits of their production, and through some governmental confiscatory manner robs them of their means to give to others, the days of that democratic nation are numbered. 

Perhaps instead of blaming the rich, or the Republicans for that matter, why don't we look at these problems in a logical, rational way?  Is there any rationally, prudent person who believes that we can continue spending money we don't have and not have dire consequences?  Is there anyone who really believes that we can continue to tax to a point where it makes no sense to produce anything?  Is there anyone who rationally believes we can continue to borrow money from China and others to continue deficit spending all the way to the destruction of the US dollar on the world market?  Is there anyone who rationally believes we can continue to import seventy percent of our energy from other countries as we embargo the development of our own resources that would make us energy independent?  A reasonably prudent person would say this is outlandish.  Blasting the wealthy may feel good to some for now, but someday they will be gone.  To whom, then, will we turn to blast?

Heart redemption

In the Bible the heart is the center of emotion and conscience. We are told in Proverbs 3:5 to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.” God has created us with a place that needs to be filled with His wisdom and understanding. People live their lives trying to stuff all sorts of things into that space that He has created for Himself. But our efforts to fill our hearts with “things” to bring happiness only leave us empty and looking for more. Even relationships not truly grounded in God’s love and purpose will leave us seeking more.

To find joy to fill that empty place is to Worship Him and yield to Him our heart of hearts to be filled with His love and His Spirit so that we may experience the wildest ride of our lives. Only by inviting His Spirit into ourselves will we be able to find true peace.

Is there any room in the bio-science of brain function to fit this in?

I believe we have misplaced our dependence on God's provision for His Spirit. We may have forgotten that the presence of His Spirit brings power to operate in a way that only the Spirit can operate. That operation includes transcending the typical physical state of our existence. Paul seemed to understand that when he talked about life in the Spirit as opposed to life controlled by the sin nature each of us has. He implies something miraculous must occur to break that cycle of moving from the sin nature to the life in the Spirit. Just as we cannot save ourselves from the "law" or works within ourselves, we cannot grow (be sanctified) without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To the Galatians Paul said, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." (5:16-17)

So to the point, perhaps part of that power from the Holy Spirit is to supply the brain with the right connections so that through our yielding to the Spirit it allows Him to continue on with the work of Jesus through the person who has given his life over to the work of Christ and His gift of the Holy Spirit.

I wonder if when God created Adam and then Eve, since He pronounced that creation as "Very Good" there was a relational component between the two of them and with God that was destroyed when sin entered the world. Of course that is true since even Paul in his Romans letter stated that even the "cosmos" was affected. To escape the effect of falling under the same curse that sin caused, God had to arrange for Jesus to be conceived rather than leave it up to Joseph. That destructive cycle of sin had to be broken, and of course it had to come from outside the "created" circle with direct intervention from the Creator. Hence, Jesus was both God and Man, and through His sacrifice was able to overcome even death and be resurrected to become that "new creature" with a relationship with God that He originally intended.

Now that does lend itself to the proposition that the "heart of emotion" in man co-joins in some way to the brain that links us to the Spirit in such a way as is possible only with our free choice of submission to Him. It is not a far leap to believe that the brain undergoes some sort of change with the touch of the Spirit of God and opens up channels of communication and relationship that had been previously impossible in the "sinful state" of being fallen. I wonder if the state of the human mind is not improved with the touch of the Spirit when a person willingly chooses to yield to the work that Jesus did on the cross and decides to invite Him into their life. At some point Jesus allows the Spirit of God to enter into that person and release power in a way that had never been experienced before. Perhaps a different way of thinking, a "child-like" faith, and a new life-style that is seen through the eyes of Jesus rather than the "world-view" thing.

Now, in our bodies we may not be able to see things as clearly because of our logic that is clouded by the sin nature or world-view simply cannot understand the ways of God. I think Job's arguments and human logic for cause and effect were quelled by God's answer to him in a series of "Where were you when I..." statements. As we begin that journey toward the Kingdom of Heaven by accepting Jesus and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He brings, perhaps our brain begins a metamorphosis of changing from a sin-stained brain to a "Life in the Spirit" brain. It gives us hope that our new bodies are being prepared even as we journey through this barren land.

Now please do not misunderstand:  I am not really wanting to identify directly with Calvinism regarding this proposition, especially the belief that mankind is unable to choose to follow God and be saved because they are unwilling to do so out of the necessity of their own natures. I do believe that sin has resulted in a different relationship than what was experienced between God, Adam and Eve. Remember in the Garden they had direct communion with God "in the cool of the day." That direct access to God was broken when Eve, then Adam chose to listen to the serpent rather than obey God. When God confronted them He initiated a "curse" that caused not only spiritual changes, but physiological changes as well. Even the ground began to produce thorns and the human mind became dark with anguish, despair, unforgiving and destructive even to the point of murder.  

I think choice and free will remained relatively unchanged in regard to the human being's ability to make rational choices based on evidences of good and evil. To take that away from his crowning creation and initiate a "predestined" elect would have negated the necessity for the sacrifice of blood. I believe His predestined plan was redemption, atonement, justification, sanctification and, ultimately glorification. Then it remains the individual's free will choice to yield or not to the God of Israel. We see that choice in the life of Abraham and Job who likely lived at the same time. They believed God; made logical, cognitive and emotional choices in the face of many disbelievers. Before them even, we see Abel making the right choice to follow the will of God with the sacrifice. Indeed, we need only to look to the eleventh chapter of Hebrews to see a list of people who had not lost their ability of free will to make appropriate choices.

So if a person lives under his sin-nature as opposed to life in the Spirit, does his body as ruled by his brain experience joy and "Christ-like" characteristics as does a person yielded to Christ? I believe the answer to that is yes. It may be an empirical difference that can only be found under post-mortem studies, but the potential is there in the creation aspect for men and women to be "good" people and experience joy as they perceive joy, and never see a need to come to Christ. The difference is in the salvation. Without Christ there is no salvation, no matter how good you are!  You know, "There is only one name under heaven whereby men might be saved..." Did Cain experience joy as he chose his offering and prepared it for a sacrifice to God? As he thought of how he was going to please God were there endorphins released that caused pleasure to well up within his heart? Perhaps his motive was to compete with his brother Abel and gain a better position in God's sight; but this too might have caused the same pleasure as he contemplated and completed the act.

I guess I might believe that the same sensations exist in both the saved and unsaved; but with varying degrees. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult for a person who believes he is a good person finds it so difficult to come to Christ; after all, from his perception, what is the need?  To be redundant, of course, is to remind the readers that the "need" is for redemption.

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