Setting Our Minds On Heaven

Photo Credit: acroll

I am currently reading Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, and in the introduction Alcorn tells the following story:

"In 1952, young Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of mainland California. She'd already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. The weather was foggy and chilly: she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam for fifteen hours. When she begged to be taken out of the water along the way, her mother, in a boat alongside, told her she was close and that she could make. Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, she stopped swimming and was pulled out. It wasn't until she was on the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away. At a news conference the next day she said, "All I could see was the fog... I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it." *

Life can be difficult and, at times, seems unbearable. The everyday challenges that we encounter can cause those of us that are Christians to take our eyes of Jesus and set them on temporal pleasures with no lasting significance. But understanding that a greater eternity awaits the faithful can help us in setting our priorities and making the right decisions when temptation calls. Although we don't know how long it will be until we make it to our true home, focusing on our destination can help us in living with an eternal perspective. See through the fog and look towards eternity.

*This story was shared in a taped message by C. J. Mahaney, “Loving the Church,” Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, MD

Thoughts on Death & Dying

Along with many others, I have thought a lot this past week about the topics of death & dying. The number of celebrity deaths has been abnormally high, but on a personal level, I have a very close friend that is likely near the end of his life here on earth.

One of my favorite writers, Randy Alcorn, addresses this topic on his blog. Randy is a thoughtful apologist on a number of topics and, more specifically, is an authority on heaven. Alcorn comments:

"God uses suffering and impending death to unfasten us from this earth and to set our minds on what lies beyond. I’ve lost people close to me. (Actually, I haven’t lost them, because I know where they are—rather, I’ve lost contact with them.) I’ve spent a lot of time talking to people who’ve been diagnosed with terminal diseases. These people, and their loved ones, have a sudden and insatiable interest in the afterlife. Most people live unprepared for death. But those who are wise will go to a reliable source to investigate what’s on the other side. And if they discover that the choices they make during their brief stay in this world will matter in the world to come, they’ll want to adjust those choices accordingly."

Death is always hard to deal with and when it happens to someone close to you it is even harder. As a Christian, I believe that death is merely the passing into a better life for the believer in Christ. But knowing that doesn't necessarily make it easier for those of us left behind. We must still deal with the emotions of grief, sorrow, sadness, anger and loneliness. We must wrestle with our questions before God (even though we may not receive the answers we want) and move on with our lives while keeping our loved ones in our remembrance.

I encourage you to check out Randy Alcorn's article "Looking Forward to Heaven", as well as a wealth of other resources on his Eternal Perspectives ministry website here.

An Historic Evening

I woke up this morning still in disbelief as I witnessed something last night that I never thought I would see in my lifetime -- the American electorate choosing an African American as president. The selection of Barack Obama as the next leader of this great land demonstrates that our country has taken a step forward when it comes to how people view race, but we still have a long ways to go.

I also sat there last evening in admiration as I watched John McCain give his concession speech. I appreciated the positive nature in which Sen. McCain carried himself throughout the campaign and the genuine and thoughtful way in which he recognized the historic moment that we were experiencing. More than simply making a brief reference to President-elect Obama's victory, he traced some of the American history in regard to race and the presidency. In case you didn't see his message, here is a portion:

"This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight. I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Sen. Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth."

Sen. McCain is not only an American hero and patriot, but a class act as well.

So as we prepare for a shift in leadership in the weeks ahead, there is one area that I would like to address with my friends that have vocally supported Sen. Obama. There is much that I like about him, but there is one subject that I strongly disagree with him on and that is on the issue of abortion. Much has been said about his voting record when it comes to this matter and it is a concern to me.

In their zeal to support the nation's first black president, I have been troubled by the cavalier attitude that some have displayed as it pertains to the protection of the unborn. As I read the Scriptures, I learn that God is concerned with both protecting the not yet born and caring for those children after they've left the womb. Abortion is not a political issue that should only be given attention every four years. It is a moral issue that demands our attention each day.

Voting for pro-life candidates is one way to care for the unborn, but there is much more than that in order to make a real difference. Randy Alcorn lists "50 Ways to Help Unborn Babies and Their Mothers" and I encourage you to read through that list and consider how you can be involved. Whether you consider yourself to be pro-life or pro-choice, I think we can all be involved in different ways to help women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy.

As I've said in other circles, I feel like this is my generation's slavery. I trust that God will change the heart of President-elect Obama so that he will do everything in his power to protect the innocent and defenseless -- both in and out of the womb. And may we each do the same as well.

Pop, Soda or Coke?

I'm close to finishing the third book in a trilogy by one of my favorite authors, Randy Alcorn and I can't wait to read the last few chapters. The book is called Deception and continues the story told in Alcorn's previous books, Deadline and Dominion.

Deception follows the story of Ollie Chandler, a homicide detective fighting his own demons while seeking to solve a murder that leads him to unexpected places. I won't tell you much more about the book in case you want to read it, but I was introduced to a fun website while reading this fictional story.

In his quest to pinpoint a suspect in an unsolved murder, Ollie discovers the unique geographical trends that Americans possess when it comes to how we refer to soft drinks. Some of us call it pop, some call it soda and others refer to all soft drinks as "coke." Ollie visits the Pop vs. Soda website and learns something intriguing about the suspect he's investigating.

As a kid growing up in the Detroit-area, I learned that these tasty carbonated beverages were called "Pop." But while spending a summer in southern California while in college (my first extended exposure to those outside the midwest) I learned that some others thought it odd that I called it pop. Over the years I've traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and have lived in several different states and have learned firsthand that regional dialects do exist in the U.S.

This map shows the differences across the United States in reference to soft drinks. Since I've lived in different parts of the country where residents have referred to it as pop, soda or coke, I've gained the ability to adjust to my surroundings. Now that I've lived in central Florida for four years, I've begun to call it soda since some people make fun of me when I call it pop. Sometimes I even find myself asking for a "fountain drink."

You can view a breakdown by state here. Another interesting link on the Pop vs. Soda site is to CommonCensus.org where you can view a breakdown on where the fans of various professional and college teams live. Check it out here. Interesting to see how it all plays out.

American Wealth and the Rest of the World

Lori and I are currently going through the membership class at our church and this week the class looked at the topic of biblical giving. Each member was given a copy of The Treasure Principle (by one of my favorite authors, Randy Alcorn) and watched portions of a message on giving by Bob Coy, pastor of Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale. Pastor Coy's talk contained some pretty interesting facts about the world we live in and how Americans compare to others.

He stated that if we were to break down the population of the world into only 100 people, it would play out like this:

• There would be 51 women and 49 men.
• 70 people would be of a faith other than Christianity.
• There would be 70 people of color; 30 would be white.
• 80 would live in substandard housing (i.e. no running water or electricity, etc.)
• 50 would be malnourished, living off of perhaps one small meal a day.
• 70 would be illiterate and unable to read.
• And 6 of the the 100 would possess half of all the world's wealth and reside in the United States of America.

Even with the financial challenges that Americans face today, it doesn't seem as bad when you consider the following:

• There are approximately 6.6 billion people in the world today and close to half of that (well over 3 billion) live on less than $2 a day!
• There are over 300 million living in the U.S. (less than 6% of the world's population), yet Americans have half the world's wealth.

To personalize this, why don't you take a stroll on over to Global Rich List and see where you rank on the list of the world's wealthiest people? I know that my wife and I are feeling the strain of the present economic crisis, but understanding that I have more financial wealth than over 97% of the world's population puts things in perspective. It's at least something to think about.

Heaven at Starbucks

What do you think of the following quote?

"Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can't wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but heaven has to step it up a bit. They're basically getting by because they only have to be better than hell."

It comes from Joel Stein, columnist for the LA Times, and, along with dozens of other quotes from various people, can be found on cups at Starbucks. Stein expected a response when we found out his words would be printed on the cups, but he didn't expect that it would lead to a conversation with Randy Alcorn.

Alcorn is one of my favorite writers and is a well-known authority on the topic of heaven. To learn how Alcorn ended up talking with Stein, you can go to his blog here. And to read Stein's article on their conversation, you can follow this link.

One of the things that I appreciate about Randy Alcorn is that he demonstrates consistency and steadfastness in his convictions, yet communicates those convictions to others with a tremendous balance of truth and grace. This is a great example of how believers can take a perceived "slam" on the Christian faith and engage in intelligent dialogue with those that don't yet know Jesus.