HEAVEN

A little city girl that was visiting the countryside for the first time looked up to see the starlit night sky asking herself, “If heaven’s so beautiful on the wrong side, what’s it like on the right side?” Since the beginning of time, people have argued over the existence of heaven – some people believe in it, while others don’t. The thing of it is this - is it really important to prove that heaven exists, when heaven’s existence is already obvious upon gazing into the vast celestial? A famous evangelist once described heaven, firstly, as home (with all of its biblical word associations and with all of its sacred memories). Second, heaven is a home with permanence because we have the promise of a home where Christ’s followers will remain forever. Third, heaven is a home which is beautiful beyond all imagination because God is a God of beauty. And lastly, heaven will be a happy home because there will be no sadness. In heaven, family and friends will be reunited and to top it off, God’s house will be a happy home because Christ will be there at the center of it all. Unto Him, all hearts will turn, and upon Him all eyes will rest. Genesis 1:1 says in the very first sentence of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”. The little city girl that saw that saw the beauty of heaven from the dark side of life saw the hope of heaven because it’s truly more glorious on the other side. Are you sure you’re going to heaven? John 14:1-3 says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Put your life in the hands of God and you’ll get to see heaven.

PRAYER AND FASTING

Mark 9:29

“And he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting”.

When the Disciples tried to do heal people like Jesus they found that they weren’t able to heal anyone. People were bringing their sick loved ones to the them and someone finally complained to Jesus saying, "Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal him. He can't speak because he is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this evil spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it." The Lord gave the prescription in Mark 9:29 on how to get the impossible accomplished and it’s only by prayer and fasting. So, what’s keeping you from doing praying and fasting?

IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD

Whatever is in your thoughts can make you or break you because a person is only as good as his thoughts. Proverbs 23:7 says: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”. Sir Walter Scott once said, “Give me my imagination and I can be happy in a prison”. Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower of London for thirteen years, but his active mind and spirit could not be chained as he authored a classic history of the world. John Bunyan was locked in a Bedford jail to stop him from preaching the gospel, but his tireless soul refused to be enchained as he penned Pilgrim’s Progress, which for centuries was the most popular book of the English language. Apostle Paul himself, while imprisoned in Rome and chafing because he could not go and preach to the churches, wrote letters which have immortalized his name and have been carrying the message of Christ to all generations since. God has given us the mind to think and he did not stop there. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” He has given us his mind – the mind that created the heavens, the earth, everything seen and unseen. Place your thoughts onto how powerful you are and can be. Think like God.

TREASURE HUNTING

Have you ever gone on a treasure hunt? I’ve been on three treasure hunting expeditions that have endangered my life. The human desire to be rich is just neverending. It’s been said that by the time Alexander the Great had died, he’d conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks including the mighty Persia. Accordingly, “The armies of Alexander the Great had thoroughly defeated Darius. All the rich spoils of Persia were theirs. Alexander the Great kept for himself only one item from among those splendid treasures. It was a small jeweled box. What do you suppose he kept in that box? It was a copy of The Iliad. The value of books can hardly be overestimated.” There’s an even better book that’s the best seller of best sellers. A book that’s surpassed all the books ever written under the sun from generation to generation – the Bible: the treasure chest of God. Are you searching for treasures and riches? If you are, read the Bible and look for the true map that will lead you to true riches. Follow Matthew 6:20, “Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.”

AUTHORITY

Do you want to be “The Boss”, but are lacking the authority? In the past, I’d served as a CEO of a tech company and was dubbed “The Boss” and that title gave me some very desirable privileges and the authority that came with it. However, beneath the privileges and authority of being “The Boss” are the many sleepless nights, stressful situations and challenging business decisions; I was like a duck swimming in full throttle: I looked smooth and unruffled above water, but below the waterline I was paddling furiously to provide forward motion for the company and the employees.

The authority we earn in this world carries with it the burdens of life. In Matthew 10:1 it says, “Jesus called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority”. From this we learn that the disciples who followed Jesus were given authority after learning from Him. Jesus is willing and able to give you authority that you don’t have to work for; you just have to work learn from Him and He'll give it to you.

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

Have you been fighting life and life’s pressures? Growing up, I faced many challenges and fights so I studied martial arts to be physically ready for some tough challenges. During sparring, my adrenaline and blood would pump so hard it would feel as if I was in a real fight! Well, this is the world that we live in, with a feeling of a never-ending fight on a day-to-day basis; we end up exhausted, tired and dying and as we try to get up the next morning to face new challenges. Even the most powerful men in the world with large resources at their disposal to face large challenges still reach exhaustion in their fights. Here are sound bites from the farewell statements of some former US presidents, upon leaving the White House:

George Washington - “I’d rather be in the grave than in the presidency again”

Thomas Jefferson - “Never did a prisoner released from his chains feel such relief as I shall in shaking off the shackles of power”

James Buchanan (to Abraham Lincoln) - “If you are as happy, dear Sir, on entering this house as I am on leaving it, you are the happiest man in the country”

Abraham Lincoln, after having been in the White House a while: “I feel like the man who was tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail”

James K. Polk: “I shall be a happier man in my retirement”

It doesn’t have to be like this! Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” Fight life and life’s pressures with JESUS as your partner!