Heaven on Earth

I don't try and hide it.  I'm a believer, a follower of God.  I believe He created this world and everything in it, and he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to the Earth, to be born, live, die and be raised on the third day.  I believe that on the cross, the sins of the world were on him when he died.  I believe this.  I believe that Christ, some day will come again and take his followers, fellow believers to heaven.  I plan on being one of them.

As a believer, I am to be obedient to God, to follow his word, to honor and love him, to love and serve others.  It is not something that anyone forces me to do; it is a choice I freely make.

I believe there is a Heaven, reserved for the ones who have followed God, obeyed his commands and lived their lives imitating him.  I also believe there is a Hell, which God describes as a place of torment. It is for the unbelievers, for those who have chosen not to obey God, who have chosen to live their own way, not God's way.

This is what I believe; this is who I try to be.  I am not perfect by any stretch.  I sin, sometimes with forethought.  I am flawed; I am a sinner.  I constantly want to be better than I am.  It is difficult, just so very difficult.  But that doesn't mean I don't try.  I am repentant when I sin.  I ask the Father for forgiveness, I covet his grace and mercy, which he freely pours out to those who call on his name with a truly repentant heart.

I don't know who is going to heaven.   I'm not God, and I am not going to say who is going and who isn't.  That isn't my job, I am busy enough, struggling enough trying to live a life pleasing to him.  I do expect to see people who attend many different churches in heaven, not just one as some believe, and we will all rejoice and sing praises to the Father.  We will worship him for eternity in a land with no more pain, no more tears, no more hurt.  I can't wait.

We had a special worship service last night.  Where I attend, it is a rare occasion when we all meet together on a Sunday evening, but last night was different.  We had 90 minutes of praise and worship to the Father in song.  Ninety minutes of a cappella, four-part harmony.  Five hundred voices singing from the heart.  It was special.  It gave goose bumps.  I cried.

One of our members, Will Young, who also happens to be a good friend of mine, said at the end, "Tonight, we have seen a little bit of what heaven is like."  Amen brother.  If heaven is anything like last night was, Lord, take me home now!