And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:10-23)
Today's Morsel: Heaven! The final resting place. Home for the saints of God. A place of no more suffering and pain. But I'm afraid that so many who talk about heaven, don't really want to go there. From all indications, many people are trying to extend their life upon the earth for as long as possible. Even medical professionals are trying to find ways to extend life. Me, I don't want any heroics. When it's my time, let me exit stage right. For some, as soon as there is an abnormality, it is doctor here I come. If pain last longer than a day, something must be wrong with them. Does the church really believe in heaven, or are we Christian atheists?
Do we talk about heaven just to win souls and make others happy, or do we talk about heaven because we really want and plan to go there? I believe that one of the fallacies with the church is that we aren't having heaven here on earth. Jesus said that we should pray that God's will be done in the earth as it is in heaven. Well, when sinners repent, heaven rejoices, Jesus said. But the church doesn't get excited until someone gets baptized or receives the Holy Ghost. The next time you see someone in your church that you know who wasn't living according to God's Word repents or lift up their hands to God, get excited with heaven and rejoice! Worship God. It'll make it easier for you when you get there.
Sing: I want to know how it feel, to make my way down the streets of gold. I want to know how it feels, to have a talk with the saints of old. I want to know what it's like, to rest my feet by the river of life; I've heard of heaven and I know that it's real, I want to know how it feels.
No comments:
Post a Comment