Heaven Is For Real?

I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie “Heaven is for Real,” and I don’t know what you think of the testimony of a young boy who testifies that heaven is for real because he’s seen it.

What I do know is that there are a lot of misconceptions about heaven. So many descriptions and pictures of heaven are so far off from what the Bible teaches us is actually true about heaven. We’re all familiar with the cartoon pictures of a man sitting all alone on a cloud playing a harp. He has the expression of someone marooned on a desert island with absolutely nothing to do.

Some people believe that heaven is going to be an unending church service. Now, I have to be honest with you, I love church, but the thought of an unending church service doesn’t really get me excited about heaven.

We have settled on an image of the never-ending sing-along in the sky, one great hymn after another, forever and ever, amen. Really? Forever and ever? That’s it? That’s the good news?

We think these thoughts and sigh, feeling guilty that we aren’t more “spiritual.” We think, if we were just more spiritual than we would be more excited about the never-ending sing-along in the sky. I love to sing, and I hope that somehow in heaven I’ll have the singing voice of Bono. However, not only is that not exciting, it isn’t what the Bible teaches us about heaven.

Heaven is a place where God makes things right. The life we experience now is not God’s original plan for us. When mankind invited sin - disobedience to God - into our experience, the world was tainted by the ugliness of sin. Heaven is a place where no sin exists.

One of the ways the Bible describes heaven is in the book of Revelation, where it says: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away … Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

This was written by a man named John, who wrote the book of Revelation and testifies to us that heaven is for real.

What will heaven be like? It will be exactly what God promised: A resurrected life in a resurrected body, with the resurrected Christ on a resurrected earth. It will be as God intended for us from the beginning. Because the Bible says that Satan will be bound, there will be no more influence of sin in our lives. We’ll finally get the life that God so desires for us. It’ll be heaven.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

It Is Written

Have you ever wondered why, when Christ was tempted in the wilderness, the angels didn’t come to minister to Jesus until after Satan left? I think that would have been a pretty exciting supernatural battle. The answer is simply because Jesus had what he needed to win the battle.

Suppose an intruder invaded your house. The intruder forces himself into your house and tries to take control of your home. Your entire family is terrified as the intruder battles for control. All of a sudden, you remember 911. If you can just get to the phone, you know that help is near. You manage to get to the phone and make the call.

Moments later, two police officers arrive and enter the battle to defeat the intruder and win your home back. The intruder proves to be extremely strong, and the two officers find themselves unable to subdue him. They make a call of their own, and several other officers arrive. Soon the battle is over and the intruder is taken away and locked up. Calling 911 proved to be the answer to your problem. Because you called 911, the victory became yours.

As Christ-followers, we possess a 911 number to dial when we find ourselves under attack from Satan and his minions. Our 911 number is “it is written.” That’s the same “number” Jesus dialed when he found himself attacked by Satan. In Matthew chapter four in the Bible, the battle is recorded for us. Satan went on the attack, trying to tempt Jesus when he was tired, hungry and most vulnerable. That is what he does.

The event played out this way: Jesus was in the desert after fasting 40 days and nights.

The Bible says, “The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus was tempted two more times after that and every time his answer was the same: “It is written.”

When we are attacked and challenged, our response is to be the same as Jesus – “It is written.”

You see, Satan can handle you, but he cannot handle the Word of God. When we respond with the Word of God, it is as though we have a direct line to the power of the Holy Spirit and the very Throne Room of God.

The problem is when we try to fight the battle ourselves. We are no match. In the same way, Satan is no match for the power of God. When the intruder forces his way into your life, don’t try to win the battle yourself - make the call. When we call upon God’s Word, we are reminded that God has spoken and he didn’t stutter. Memorizing the number is pretty important when you need it.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

There's More To The Story

Have you ever tried to tell a story and for, whatever reason, you left parts out? We’ve all done it and the result is always the same - the story gets confusing. The story of God’s desire to save mankind is not different. Too often we tell the part of the story about forgiveness and how that cleanses us from our sins, but fail to share the rest of the story. Let me illustrate by using canning as an example.

Let’s say that you are going to preserve some peaches. The first thing you have to do is to sterilize the containers. This is an important step because sterilizing the containers preserves the peaches from spoiling.

Someone comes into your kitchen while you are cleaning the containers and asks why you’re cleaning them and your response is, “I just like to keep them clean.” The story doesn’t make sense. Cleaning jars for the sake of just having clean jars makes the story incomplete. It’s only part of the story, but this is exactly what we’ve done with the story of God’s salvation for mankind. We typically only tell about God’s sterilizing process - the cross - and neglect to share about God’s filling process - Christ living in us.

Too many times we are guilty of teaching only half the gospel. We teach about how the cross of Christ brings forgiveness of our sins, but fail to communicate a big part of the story that involves receiving the life of Christ. Christ’s paying the penalty for sin on the cross was so that we could be cleansed from our sins. That was done so that he could then fill us with Christ “without spoiling.”

There’s even more to this story. Like canning, cleaning the container is just the beginning. It’s cleaned so that it can be filled. Just as a fruit container is sterilized so that it can be filled with fruit without spoiling, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness by Christ’s cleansing power so that we can be filled with the life of Christ.

However, there is one more piece to complete the story. After sterilizing and filling the jars with fruit, they are sealed. Sealing keeps the good things in and the bad things out.

The Bible says: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”

Cleansing, filling, and sealing tells the whole story of God’s salvation. The Bible says that this seal is a guarantee that we will be preserved until our inheritance is complete.

There is so much more to the story of God’s salvation than simply being cleansed and forgiven. The very life of Christ fills us so that we can live free from the destruction of sin. Being sealed by God’s Spirit guarantees that we belong to him. There’s the whole story.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

Separation of Church and Neighborhood

Did you know that the unchurched population of the United States is the largest mission field in the English-speaking world and the fifth largest globally?  There seems to be a major separation between local churches and the neighborhoods they are meant to serve.  We are accustomed to speaking of the great commission, but it is the commandment that Jesus calls “great.”  The commission erupts out of the great commandment:  “Love the Lord your God with all the heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  God has given us no greater commandments than these.  Fulfilling these commands demands connecting and establishing relationships that are genuine and authentic.  When the church closes itself off to the outside world, the result is an institution rather than a movement.

The church today is not listening to the millions of desperate, but unrecognized, cries for help.  It’s as though the Christian community is not listening.  To live out the “great commandment,” we must live out our faith among our neighbors.  Who’s your neighbor?  Whoever crosses your path.  To live out our faith is to genuinely care for others—especially those far from God.  It’s not to preach to them—it’s to simply love them in the midst of their circumstances.  It’s not to judge them—it’s to extend God’s grace and be reminded that, but for the grace of God, there go I.  To love others is to see them through God’s eyes.  There’s an old saying:  “You’ve never locked eyes with another human being who isn’t loved and valued by God.” 

The measure of our spiritual health must be considered against how we treat the lost and broken of this world.  Jesus viewed a person’s claim to love God by their love for others.  This is true of us as individuals but also as communities of faith.  Jesus established his church to serve the surrounding community. Wherever a local church is established, it should be to serve as a mission outpost to meet the needs of that community, to make it better, to enrich people’s lives, and to model the love of Christ. 

For the church to separate itself from its community is to commit spiritual suicide.  There’s no life where new life isn’t being realized.  The church’s mission is great.  It is to go and share our faith and hope with as many people as possible, and this is best done when we live out the “great commandment” to love others.  Jesus Christ was not sacrificed for the sins of the church.  He was sacrificed for the sins of the world.  The church is God’s mechanism to convey that message of hope.  If there is any hope of sharing this message with a community desperately looking for answers, the church needs to learn to sacrifice for its community.  We cannot separate ourselves from our community.  Let’s get into our community and shine the light of Christ. 

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL. 

*reprinted from the Peoria Times

God's Not Dead

Recently, I saw the movie “God’s Not Dead.”  It’s a great movie!  A friend of mine who also saw the movie was so inspired by it, she texted her entire contact list and said “God’s not dead!”  One person replied, “Really, what’s his address?”  It’s a fair question, and there is a great answer.  In a world of over 7 billion people, there are certain identifiers that pinpoint each of us.  It’s called our address.  For example:  You are identified by the country you live in and that gets narrowed down to the state, followed by the city, zip code and then house address.  Within the house address, you are identified by name.  That address identifies you and picks you out from among everyone else in the world.  

Jesus has an address that points to him as the Son of God.  Actually, Jesus has many more identifiers that point to him than our simple address.  Let’s start with Noah. Noah had three sons, Shem, Japeth, and Ham.  Today all the nations of the world can be traced back to these three men.  The Bible says that the Messiah will come through the linage of Shem, eliminating the other two.  Continuing down to the year 2000 B.C., we find a man named Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees.  With Abraham, God gets even more specific in identifying Jesus as the Messiah.  God tells Abraham that all the nations of the world will be blessed through him.  Abraham had two sons—Isaac and Jacob.  God chose the line of Jacob.  Jacob had twelve sons, out of whom developed the twelve tribes of Israel.  God singled out the tribe of Judah for the Messiah and eliminated the other eleven.  And of all the family lines within the tribe of Judah, the line of Jesse was the divine choice.  God is narrowing it down for us.  Watch this…Jesse has eight children.  The Bible says that God chose the house of David and that He would be born of a virgin. 

Like all addresses, it begins broad and gets more and more narrow—even the house.  But what about the name?  An angel speaks to Joseph, as it is recorded in Matthew 1:21:  “You are to give Him the name Jesus.”  Step by step, the Bible clearly identifies Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

Jesus was furthered identified as the Messiah, the Savior of the world, in 1012 BC through a prophecy that stated that His hands and feet would be pierced (describing the crucifixion).  What’s interesting about that is that this description was written 800 years before crucifixion was even put into effect by the Romans. 

God’s not dead and we even have an address that pinpoints who he is.  There is no mistaking that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.  God’s not dead--He’s surely alive!

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

*reprinted from the Peoria Times

An Easter Prayer

After we have celebrated Easter and the greatest gift offered to mankind - a resurrected Savior who offers salvation to all - what do we do now? What should we do with the knowledge that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected, just as he said he would?

Of course, the first thing is to accept the gift offered. Praying a prayer of repentance and acceptance enjoins us with God, so much so that he calls us his children.

As children of God, we now have a new potential for higher living. However, the sad and disappointing truth is that many children of God never live to the level of their potential. It’s like they pray a prayer to receive Christ and the gift of salvation offered, but then disconnect. The power to live to the level God desires for us is through the power of prayer. Many of us are living below our potential simply because we are not tapping into the power source of life.

I heard someone once describe it this way: It’s as though God has prepared an incredible banquet for them, and they are sitting in the corner with a bologna sandwich. The problem is that they don’t want to risk giving up the familiar sandwich for the promise of the banquet.

It’s like saying, “Okay, I know I am saved and going to heaven, but I’m going to stay right here until then.”

An Easter prayer is meant to be just the beginning, not the end. Prayer changes us by drawing us closer to God. Even well before the first Easter, David understood prayer’s power as a mechanism to change us.

One of David’s famous prayers was: “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

Living to our potential means that we meet God in prayer. I believe in the old adage, “No Prayer, no power!” When our heart intersects with the heart of God, we are changed. We become more Christ-like. We begin to see things through God’s eyes rather than our own. We see people as God sees them.

That means that we become less judgmental and more loving toward others. We begin to see our circumstances through the lens of what God is doing in our life. We rise above our circumstances rather than being engulfed by them.

The Easter story is about a resurrected life. God’s desire is to resurrect in us new life. We don’t have to wait for heaven to enjoy an incredible relationship with God. Through prayer, we can encounter God and have the confidence that our life has meaning and purpose, because we know that he is leading and guiding our steps.

An Easter prayer has the power to elevate your earthly experience and align it with the God who paid it all for you.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

*reprinted from the Peoria Times

Is Church a Destination?

How would you answer that question? After all, we talk all the time about “going to church,” or we talk about our church as the place “we attend.”

It sounds like a destination to me, but is that the way it is supposed to be? The American church has become very destination focused. It’s all about what church you attend. We’ve been lulled into believing that simply attending church is “doing church.”

The church is really more like an airport. Imagine an airport jammed full of people and planes sitting idle on the tarmac. It has the look of success, but is anybody really going anywhere? Airports are to transport people from one place to another - that’s their mission. If planes aren’t taking off full of people, the airport isn’t really functioning like an airport is supposed to.

Like an airport, the church is a connection hub intended to help people reach their destination. The church itself is not the destination. It is the vehicle God designed to move people.

The uphill battle in this is shifting our thinking away from seeing church as a destination to seeing the church as a movement. It is so easy for a church to fall prey to thinking they are successful just because they are attracting a lot of people. Remember, like an airport, the church should not be seen as the destination but as the vehicle to get somewhere. The church has been commissioned by God for an incredible mission. That mission is about sending people out, not holding onto them.

The church was never intended to be a container. It is designed and intended to be a sending mechanism that serves the needs of the local community and the world. It’s through sending that we bring the light of Christ into focus for all to see so that those served praise our Father in heaven. It is then that a person is more open to hear the good news of the Gospel because they’ve seen it in action through the members of the church who were sent out.

The church serves as a very important hub of connection. I like to say, “We gather to teach so we can scatter to reach.” Gathering and connecting is important, but it should not become the end-all. Leveraging the power of connection for the sake of missional accomplishment is vitally important. However, we must guard against becoming satisfied with simply gathering.

A church that doesn’t exercise the Great Commission is like a person who doesn’t exercise at all. Pretty soon their weight becomes a problem, they start feeling lethargic, and the excitement of life is gone.

Can you imagine churches committing to serve the needs of people outside their walls, refusing to be simply a holding tank for people and, instead, becoming a real missional force in their community and the world? It can happen, but we must change our thinking about church as a destination.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

*reprinted from the Peoria Times