This past weekend I had an awesome privilege to speak to about 40 women at a retreat center in Seabeck, WA. The topic I chose was (you guessed it) "Expected in Heaven"! I should say God chose it since I felt so much of this weekend was God's doing. The only reason or maybe the main reason I was asked to do this was because of my past two year walk with my husband's illness and death and the way God moved in my heart as well as my husband to share what we were going through together and later me walking alone with God.
God is totally in charge of my life and I know I must surrender it to Him and trust so I can be a much happier person. I admit I tend to be a worrier so when I was asked to speak I felt VERY inadequate. God kept making me feel like it was the right thing to do and showed me through a study of 1&2 Corinthians that was letters of Paul filled with great info to teach on. I spent the year digging into those letters as well as lots of scripture that supports Paul's teaching.
I discovered Paul felt the same way, when writing to believers, as I did when I found I Corinthians 2:1-5. Here is how those verses read in my mind: "When I come to you, sisters, I do not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaim the testimony about God. For I resolve to know nothing while I am with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I come in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message and my preaching are not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on a woman's wisdom, but on God's power."
Now back home the blessings of the weekend keep showing up. God blessed us with several women who had also lost loved ones in death. There were others having to deal with the struggles life often brings our way. Our weekend taught us that the sufferings we have teach us that blessings can come out of tears. What happens when we turn to God with those sufferings is that He comforts us and then we in turn can comfort others who go through the same thing! 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 teach us that.
Another very important fact I know the Bible teaches us is we can be very SURE we are expected in heaven when we know the way. That is why I chose to do sessions on Sin, Salvation, and Service. We must realize we are sinners in order to know we need a Savior. Jesus is that Savior who loves us so much that He died for us and rose again. We need to realize He has paid the price for sin and His love is a FREE gift for us to receive! The service part comes in out of gratitude not out of trying to earn anything. It comes naturally since we love our Savior and want to live for Him because of what He did for us.
Today I happen to know someone had the privilege to lead someone else to Jesus!! What a blessing! The question came up from this person - what if a family member does not believe in Jesus will I see them in heaven? This is such a hard question and often gets Christians in a lot of trouble, but which is worse to tell someone a lie and they end up in hell because we did not want to make them feel bad?? In the Bible Jesus clearly teaches He is the only way to Heaven. He is a free gift we can choose to receive or we can say we don't really need Him because we would rather try to work our way to heaven on our own merit. The devil wants us to believe that we need to be our own gods and work our way to heaven. He still deceives like he deceived Eve! (Genesis 3:3-5) God did not REALLY say you would die if you eat the fruit He said not to, it will only make you wiser and you will be LIKE God!! Today Satan likes to deceive the same way by saying Jesus isn't REALLY the only way to heaven, surly your life is good enough or this other religion that has such good teachings about works is a good way to go. Look closely at John 14:1-7, John 10:9-11, John 5:24, John 3:16-21. If you read the whole book of John you can't miss the fact that Jesus claims to be God - part of the God head - He is the Son who the Father sent to save us sinners. We don't deserve such love but He gives it freely and when we receive it and believe Jesus is God and He is our Lord and Savior we can KNOW that we are EXPECTED IN HEAVEN!!
I hope all who read this and don't believe check out the Bible! All of you who do believe don't be deceived that there is any other way to be saved! Be a strong witness to the truth and don't be afraid to speak it clearly! Remember when you believe you are God's child and you are then a child of the King of Kings!! You are a true Prince and Princess and are expected in heaven!!
