Heaven

A young lady in our area died last week in a car accident & she was friends w/ many people we know. Stories about her & the accident were in the paper today. The Lord spared the 4 children in the car which is a blessing from God. She was a deeply Christian woman involved in her church & loved the Lord. She suffered from Spina Biffida (or something similar) & has somewhat been physically handicapped her whole life. As I've prayed for the family & thought about her I can have peace in knowing she received a new body in heaven!

At our Widow's Banquet the other night we sang many hymns & as I flipped through the old hymnal I noticed something in many of those older songs we don't emphasize as much today: Heaven. The glory & hope of heaven is what pushes us forward each day as Christians & what challenges us as a result of those who don't have that hope. We need not ever forget the promised glory of heaven & being in the presence of Jesus Christ forever. When we renew our focus on heaven it will change how we live & think.

A few weeks ago as we were in Grand Prairie w/ Erin's parents for the weekend & worshiped at their church a young elementary aged girl came forward during the invitation. I had never seen her before & knew nothing about her. She came to publically profess her faith in Jesus Christ that morning. I get emotional seeing anyone come to Christ, but I wept during that invitation giving praise to God. The young girl was blind & being led down by her parents.

John Newton couldn't have said it any better in the classic hymn "Amazing Grace" when he said: "I once was blind, but now I see." For this young girl she can now see clearly spiritually, but can also live w/ the hope of one day in heaven being able to see physically when she receives her new body in Jesus Christ. Let's daily live in the hope of heaven & it will change us to the core!