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| Getting Ready for Heaven |
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I found one of the best verses in the Bible the other day, while reading one of the Various Versions of the Bible. It is Psalm 17:15
17:15 But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face.
Don't you just love this? Of all the times we wake up and have to face yet another day, one day we will wake up in paradise. Although we can attempt to walk on this earth with our heads up high, we will not be fully satisfied until we see Him face to face.
So what will we be doing when we get to heaven? I think the primary thing we will be doing is worshipping our Lord. I have often said, of all the things we do here on earth, the one thing we will continue to do in heaven is worship. Think about it... Will we be doing our earthly jobs? Not! Mowing the lawn? Not since the streets are made of gold! Taking out the trash? What trash? Ohhhh, I'm getting excited!
How about worship? You bet!! We all know that worship can come in various forms; such as a sacrifice, singing, dancing, prayer, and the list could go on and on. But I think the thing that quenches our worship the most is our busyness. How could we ever be too "busy" to stop and worship the giver of life? How could we ever put anything ahead of the worship, He so deserves?
I have often heard it said at Bible studies and fellowships that "we don't have time for worship." I always feel like asking, "Well then what do we have time for?" I once dared to ask why we didn't have time for worship. And the response was "We want time for fellowship and time to eat our muffins." Well, I don't know about you....but another muffin is the last thing I need!
As the popular Chris Tomlin song says, "You and I were made to worship." So what should our priority be? I think worship should be a top priority of every Christian fellowship and meeting. I would rather center a meeting around worshipping the Lord, then to squeeze the worship into whatever time is "left over" after we have mapped out all of the details.
Remember the difference between Cain and Abel's sacrifice.
Which one was received? Which was rejected?
After all, we could really consider this earth "choir practice" for the main event. Heaven, where we will worship with the angels, day and night! Where we will offer ceaseless praise to the Maker of heaven and earth. I don't know about you, but I would like to get to rehearsal now! Give me a cloud and a guitar and I will be set for all of eternity!
Do you know that when you die you will go to heaven? If not, you might want to stop by Pastor Mike's blog and read his excellent post about being assured of your salvation.
I am ready.....are you?
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Beautiful verse, Sue, and it really does make you stop and think of what is really important. Nothing, except to know that all is well between you and the Lord. If that's good, everything else will eventually fall into place. Thanks for the reminder! |
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jam137 |
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August 05, 2007 at 11:08pm |
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4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
6:4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6:6 if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.
10:19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 10:20 by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 10:21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 12:2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
12:18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 12:19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. 12:20 For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." 12:21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 12:23 and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel. 12:25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 12:26 His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." 12:27 This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; 12:29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Many years ago, I read Jack Hayford describing how he "saw" heaven and earth "overlap" during worship (see this very interesting biographical article about Hayford for details; I attended "Church on the Way" regularly for a couple of years, and I respect Hayford quite a bit). Later on, when I first visited a Lutheran church that practices the liturgy (my current home church), I heard this as part of one of the regular prayers: "Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify your glorious name..." As it says here and here, Christians have understood since the days of the apostles that---as described in the above verses from Hebrews---heaven draws near to us and we draw near to God during worship. "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Matthew 18:20, ESV) Here on earth, we join the angels and all the company of the heavenly Jerusalem in the worship of God; the powers of the age to come break into this age, and we participate in this worship through the mediation of Christ. Yes, now we have a kind of "choir practice;" now we do not see God fully. But, the Word of God tells us that Heaven and the age to come is as near to us as the words of the Scriptures that are read, the words of the sermons that are preached, the baptismal water that we are washed with, the bread and the wine that we eat and drink, etc. |
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Norm |
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August 06, 2007 at 1:14am |
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Is there a saying "To worship Him is to know Him?"? You know you didn't say which of the various versions helped put this into context, which makes the need for a link (and the point of that plug) kinda pointless don't you think? :) |
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Sue, another nice post, sis!
"the thing that quenches our worship the most is our busyness"
I think you hit the nail on the head with that one. The devil is so pleased when we are overcome with busy-ness, especially when it is supposedly "work for the Lord". Anything that takes our mind completely off him. Heaven will be great, when all we will have to do is adore God!!
~mike |
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Sue |
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August 06, 2007 at 8:32am |
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Norm, The name of the various versions is in the text box, and it is in the Living Bible :) It is also the same version talked about in the link. And a link is never pointless, if it works. Especially since the point is always to point someone there. If that's the point, then it isn't pointless.
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Deb |
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August 06, 2007 at 9:43am |
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| Good post Sue. We should never be too busy to worship. |
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Norm |
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August 06, 2007 at 5:59pm |
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Now Sue. You'll forgive me if in a link called "Various" versions, I don't immediately pick out which of the versions it is you're talking about. And there's no guarantee that the version you quote is the version you are/were talking about. A link is never pointless eh? :) |
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Norm |
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August 06, 2007 at 6:05pm |
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Dear Sue: Please never again challenge me to find pointless links. My head hurts and my brain is full of fear. It really is amazing what people can find to entertain themselves. Case in point. Dramatic Chipmunk (who is actually not a chipmunk, but if that's what throws you are not reading this far into it anyways) |
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Doug |
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August 07, 2007 at 8:40am |
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| An excellent blog Sue. |
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JayKTX |
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August 08, 2007 at 8:51pm |
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Sue~ I totally agree with you - about the importance of worship and the unimportance of the muffin! Jam~ Thanks for the link to the Jack Hayford article. I'm going out to the San Fernando Valley next week to see family. Maybe I'll see the glory! |
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first, thank you for the add.
second.. i was so blessed to be readin this post. as a praise leader at my church/youth group, this blog was a something i could personally relate to and at the same time.. a huge reminder for why i worship.. thank you SO much for this post |
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Sue |
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August 08, 2007 at 11:55pm |
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Thank you all so much for your encouragement. You are a blessing!
It appears that I posted this thing too quickly :) I used spell and grammar check and it failed me! What's up wid dat? Anyway, I made the changes and even added a few thoughts. I am sorry to those who got an early read and had to read mixed up wording. I was too quick to make this thing public :) |
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| Sue, God's word is beautiful and amazing and the peace that it brings when we worship him , I personally have started to make worship a 24/7 routine, whenever there is a moment where I can Thank the Lord and worship his awesomeness I do!!! His word tells us we can do all things thru him who gives us strength, so take it and Worhip him for that strength!!! Blessings on Your Days!! As we work to worship him 24/7 Amen!!! |
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Hi Sue! Thanks for visiting our blog and giving it a star. I've read yours and I agree. "Another muffin is the last thing I need." God is recreating in me a desire and passion for worship. Last Saturday, I spent an hour just singing to Him. It was so exhilarating and edifying for me. He reminds me that as I bless His name, He blesses me back. What could be better than that? God bless you always! Teacher Carol of NABIIM Musicmakers |
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Loria |
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August 14, 2007 at 7:57am |
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WOW JUST WHAT I NEEDED THIS MORNING ,I TRUELY BELIEVE WE MUST PRAISE HIM IN ALL THINGS GOOD AND THE BAD .PLEASE REMEMEBER ME WHEN YOU PRAY . GOD BLESS ALWAYS
LORIA FARRUGGIA |
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