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Tag: salvation

  • A Picture of Heaven – Chapter 13

    A Picture of Heaven – Chapter 13

    “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…” echoed the near-silent words of the graveside.

    I thought of the stark contrast of the graveside scene to the love and glory of the depiction of Heaven in the little girl’s picture.  I smiled with joy.

    “Amen,” the words of the graveside service confirmed in my heart.

    They now seemed to be speaking to my soul, rather than to the clutter of noise in my ears and my thoughts.

    Everyone left the graveside. I watched as the casket was lowered… and then I left.

    +++

    It had always seems too difficult to glorify God on earth. We really do love our sin and hate God.

    Yet that day and one picture had changed everything.

    Jesus was now real. Jesus was now: God in the flesh — flesh and blood, broken and shed for me. His love even for a sinner like me.

    I thought of the picture of Jesus carrying a lamb.

    I thought again of the weightier significance of a childhood song:

    Jesus loves me

    This I know

    For the Bible

    Tells me so.

     I am weak

    But He is strong

    It’s for His love

    That I now long.

    I think the kid’s verse is different, but this is what I was thinking.  It’s what I was singing in my heart.  And I had His joy – like a lamb warmly held in His arms.  I was safe from the world now.

    Jesus loves me, this I know… and I had a little girl to thank… a little girl with a picture of heaven.

    +++

    Conclusion to follow tomorrow; but in case you missed any chapters or want to SHARE: 

    A Picture of Heaven – prologue.

  • A Picture of Heaven – Chapter 11

    A Picture of Heaven – Chapter 11

    (For those of you who missed our last episode, these are the roaming thoughts of a man at a funeral.)

    QUOTES from: “Ten Shekels and a Shirt,” Paris Reidhead, (1919-1992) Sermon on Judges 17, c.1945-47

    For a long time, I had thought about the missionary’s words, yet hadn’t thought of it again until now.  I had decided that I guess everybody knows about heaven, but I didn’t know if I really wanted to go there either.

    It’s not that I loved my sin… well, some of it… but heaven and hell didn’t seem real enough.

    I didn’t really get the picture of Heaven and I could not bear to even imagine any vision of hell.

    Then I thought about the corpse of my friend in the casket and had some comfort about the upcoming burial, instead of a cremation.

    And something else that missionary had said captured my mind, as I once again stared out on the cross and took in the sad music.

    * “Yes, will not the judge of all the earth do right? The heathen are lost and they are going to go to hell not because they haven’t heard the gospel.

    *They are going to go to hell because they are sinners who love their sin and because they deserve hell… I didn’t send you to Africa for the sake of the heathen.”

    *“I sent you to Africa for my sake. They deserved hell, but I love them…

    And I endured the agonies of hell for them. I didn’t send you out there for them. I sent you out there for me.

    Do I not deserve the reward of my sufferings? Don’t I deserve those for whom I died?”

    —

     I thought about “Amazing Grace.”

    Hadn’t I heard that he was once captain of a slave ship?

    “A wretch like me,” “a wretch like me,” kept ringing in my head.

    I once was lost

    But now am found

    Was blind,

    But now I see.

    —

     

     

  • A Picture of Heaven – Chapter 9

    A Picture of Heaven – Chapter 9

    The born again crowds all seem to have a plan for our salvation and confident assurance of a place in Heaven… I just don’t see it in most of their lives.

    I see people who talk about Jesus and Heaven differently in different places. I don’t even think that they understand the salvation they preach.

    Some are always happy to be alive and can’t wait for Heaven. Some are sorry to be alive and can’t wait for Heaven.

    Some celebrate as if Heaven can be claimed on earth.

    (I doubt that they are really looking forward to failing health and open caskets as part of our Heaven on earth.)

    And I have met just a few who talk about Heaven as if they live there, instead of here. They seem to be here though, as if it had something to do with Jesus.

    Somehow all of these pictures of Jesus didn’t paint a clear picture for me. But yesterday, a little girl seemed to have a simple answer. in a clear picture, of some things of Heaven I had been ignoring for a long time.

    Our serial story on Grief, salvation, and being born again from death to eternal life in heaven will resume NEXT Monday.

    In case you missed an earlier episode, here is a link to the beginning of our story.