heaven Archives – Page 2 of 3 – Sonshine's Journal

September 1, 2023September 1, 2023

Choices and Destiny

Ezekiel 19 Yes, you are free to make choices, but you are not free from those consequences. As noted, the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 will live through eternity with the choice he made here on earth. He can’t blame God, for God has provided all the evidence one needs to accept or reject Him. The apostle Paul wrote: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” [Rom 1:20]

Richard Dawkins is in the news again as he seeks to undermine the beliefs of Christians and those seeking. Yet, one day, he may find himself as the rich man with no avenue of redemption. Yet, on the other side is the author Sarah Young of “Jesus Calling,” who is now seeing Jesus face to face as she passed away today.

Choose ye this day whom you will serve. Wisdom is found in hearing from God about your destiny.

February 25, 2023February 25, 2023

Off with the Old, On with the New

Numbers 6 Last night a precious friend shed his earthly garments for the garments of the righteous in heaven. He now stands clothed in the garments that had been prepared for him in eternity past because “no one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.” [Mark 2:21] He has now heard: “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” [Mt 25:21] We, who are left behind waiting for our day, grieve with those who grieve, yet we rejoice that he is no longer suffering. He stands whole before the heavenly realm and the Savior he loved. He had been spiritually blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm, and now he sees them in perfection. [Eph 1:3]

We weep with those who weep and grieve with those who grieve. To you, we offer these words: Numbers 6:24-26 “The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you, and give you peace.

Are we ready as our dear friend to shed our earthly garments for the garments fit for the kingdom of God?

January 7, 2023January 7, 2023

Are you prepared for eternity?

Job 14-16 Job listened and wisely reminded his friends that no one can know their appointed time of passing from this life to the next. No one knows the hour or the day of their departure to heaven or hell, but they can know their destiny. Job rightly knows that even if he dies, he will see the face of God.

Job explains that in death, we are not like the trees of the field that can spring back to life after being cut down if the circumstances are such that the seeds of reproduction which lay as if dead, spring to life. Instead, man is like a broken mountain that cannot be restored.

Job then responded to Eliphaz. You are not in my position; you have no idea what I am suffering! Instead of bringing words of sorrow, you ought to be pleading for my restoration. Why don’t you plead with God as one pleads for his neighbor? Indeed, when my time comes, I shall pass from here to eternity, and you will not see my face again.

Principle: Life is fleeting; death is certain. Once we die, we will be but a memory to others. But now, in the time of another’s suffering, may we plead to God for their healing. This is our time to encourage, not demean.

October 13, 2022October 13, 2022

Welcome, Long Awaited News!

Matt 1-4 It has been 400 yrs. of silence since Malachi closed the OT. It was as if God rolled up the heavens like men roll up a scroll. What was He doing? What was He saying? What took place in those years? Today just as long ago, people were born, lived, and died. Rulers came and went, and nations have come and gone on just as before. Today’s newspapers and headlines read like the Jerusalem Post, which people read looking for that blessed hope that was promised so long ago through the prophets of old. They read the scriptures over and over, thinking that in them they would have eternal life in them; yet it is these that testified about Messiah’s coming. [Jn 5:39]

And then, with a word from heaven, the scroll unrolled to reveal the words of Malachi [Mal 4:5] “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet to prepare the way of the Lord.” And Isaiah’s words came true! A virgin would conceive, and Messiah would come through her, as Isaiah had said. [Is 7:14KJV] He would be able to trace his lineage through the royal halls of men and women such as Tamar, Ruth, Rahab, and Bathsheba. He would come to prove that God’s silence was but for a moment. Messiah came just as He promised!

Are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness? [Matt 5:6] Are you waiting for Messiah to come? He came just as He said. Have you met Him? He is waiting to reveal Himself to you.
Messiah, open the eyes of the blind to see You, open their ears to hear You, and open their hearts to receive you.

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022

All will die but…

Jer 9-12 Are you prepared?

Like Asaph of Psalm 73, Jeremiah looks at the world in which he lives and sees two kinds of people. First, some talk the talk, but their lives reveal that they are false. Then some talk the talk and are the blessed men of Psalm 1. Asaph, Job, and Jeremiah had the same question. Why does God allow the pharisaical men to go on their merry way with nary a problem, but we who are obeying face problems? Beloved, remember the psalmist saying; look about you; the wicked are like the chaff which the wind drives away. [Ps 1]They are here today and gone tomorrow.

Jesus told a parable about poor, pious but suffering Lazarus and a rich man in Luke 16:19-28. Upon dying, Lazarus found himself in Paradise. The rich unbelieving man also died but ended up in Torments begging for someone to go and tell his brothers not to come there. They ignorantly follow their father’s way but not the Father’s way. [Jer. 9:13] Abraham said: they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them, but the rich man said; they need someone from the dead to go and tell. Jesus was that risen man, but instead, the world boasts, I have power, I have wealth, and it is enough. Beloved, will those get you to the right place upon death?

Are you prepared to face your destiny?

August 17, 2022August 17, 2022

We need to be saved!

Isaiah cries as we do today: how then can we be saved?

Isaiah 64 A recent Nat’l Geographic article related the sad trajectory of the nation of Afghanistan. The warlords are raving mad. They cry, “women are a distraction.” They relish living in the days of long ago, in darkness, depravity, and violence. They see the evidence of a holy God yet deny His presence and power.

Isaiah saw it as well.

Isaiah cried as he looked at the sin-drenched world before him. Do we cry for the lost who are blind to the Savior? The truth is that our arch-enemy, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unsaved lest they see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, the image of God. [2Cor 4:4]Today, just as then, they cry: Is there a God, and if so, where is He? Why is this happening?

Isaiah perceptively saw spiritual blindness, deafness to the truth of God, and hardened hearts. The psalmist wrote that they collaborate to undo what God has ordered. [Ps 2] They refuse to yield to God and deny the Lord God Almighty. Isaiah cried: Oh, you would rend the heavens so that men would see Your power. But…He has done that before, like when Jesus cried, “It is finished!” Or when Paul and Silas were in prison. Even with the physical evidence of a mighty earthquake, men still refuse to bow the knee. But one day, they will not only bow but confess Jesus as Lord. [Phil 2:11] Until then…they sadly cry rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne…[Rev 6:16]

They know but refuse to acknowledge Him and repent.

Perhaps that is why Isaiah’s cry then and today should be: “How then can we saved?” [Is 64:5] Oh God, may your mercy be ever before us; may we recognize that You are God and there is no other. Pray for the salvation of the lost.

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022

Creation: God & His Son!

Prov 30 God – Do You Know Him?

It often amazes me when people say Christ is not revealed in the OT, yet the evidence is clear that He is there. You have to be a detective, looking for the puzzle pieces like Agur did but when you search you can find Him! Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you” [Matt 7:7]

Agur must have been a man much like Job in that he wanted answers, but unlike Job, he didn’t seem to ask God for them. However, that being said, he analyzed much of society and nature. Although he admits his inability to be wise, he observed and searched and noted there is evidence of God. He concluded that surely no man could ascend into heaven. He is right in that men cannot but God’s Son could and did. Jesus “was lifted up, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” [Acts 1:9] Then he asks about the wind and the waters and the ends of the earth. How like Job in his questioning and answering!

Through the OT/NT, God reveals His work through men and nature. Agur studied them both and concluded yes, there is a God, and He has a Son. He then asks this profound question: “What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you can know!” He is saying, my search revealed Him, what has your search revealed? That is the question every believer should ask those who claim to be a Christian or do not.

Too many stop in their search for God and His Son. Are you searching? What have you found? For me, I cannot wait to meet Agur in heaven and ask him how he came to all the conclusions he did.

June 18, 2022June 18, 2022

God’s Blessings

Ps 73 Questions and Answers

Do you see a disparity as you look at the people around you? Does it seem like those who live unrighteous lives prosper while those who live righteously struggle? The author Asaph sees this, and we do as well. Why does God allow those who are despicable and unrighteous to prosper? Is Psalm 1 true? “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.” [Ps 1:1] Asaph stops himself; God is good and Jesus said the same thing! Jesus replied to the young man before him: “no one is good except God alone.” [Mk 10:18]

So how do we handle these questions and mixed-up emotions? Perhaps we need to look beyond today to men’s destiny, such as in the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:13;19-31. The rich man was prosperous in this life, but when he died, he found himself penniless and in Torments. In contrast, the poor man, Lazarus, found himself in the arms of Abraham’s bosom.

Like Asaph, we need to see that God shows us this disparity to remind us that there is a greater blessing beyond this world and is only found here and in eternity with God. He destroys the unfaithful but blesses the faithful so we might tell of His wonderful works.

June 11, 2022June 11, 2022

Torments or Paradise

Ps 52-54; Luke 16: 19-31 Two Men, Two Decisions

In Genesis, we see God creating, and he pronounces it all good, but in these three psalms, God looks upon His creation and pronounces: none doeth good, no not one. How tragic for our Almighty God to say these words. God sees and hears their words: There is no God. Yet, Paul announces that all creation screams God is all about us, and His eternal attributes are clearly seen. [Rom 1:20] One day, those who deny God’s existence will not only see Him but understand what they have missed.

To help us understand that, Jesus told a story in Luke 16:1-31 about such a man. He was wealthy, but a poor man lay at his gate and they both died. When the rich man awoke, he realized that he was in torments. Looking across the way, he saw Father Abraham and the poor man in Paradise. He begged Father Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and begged for someone to go to tell the living of this terrible place lest they too find themselves there.

The response of Abraham is telling: even if someone rises from the dead, they will not hear Him. Jesus rose from the dead, and the fools said, “There is no God.”

God has provided the evidence of Himself. What will you choose?

May 13, 2022May 5, 2022

Prayer is God’s Technology!

Esther 8 to 10 Prayer Unleashes God’s Power

Today we are one click away from knowing what is happening around the globe. Global governments and people seek to be in control of all legislation and people’s decisions. But in Esther’s time, Persia was a “nation” that stretched from India to Ethiopia where only horse riders brought the news. They heard that there was a new decree to exterminate Jews. Many times we only get news second or third hand and don’t know the particulars. Yet our God is aware and He is “on our side.”

God has placed His chosen officials in place. Pray for them to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” [Col. 1:9] Pray for our leaders, “and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” [1Ti 2:2]

Esther took her plea to the king and revealed the plan to rid Persia of the Jews by the hand of wicked Haman who hated God’s people. God hears the pleas of His children and raises up and puts down those who are filled with hatred of His chosen ones. We must pray for God’s power to be unleashed.

How are you praying for your governing officials today?