Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

HEAVEN IS LOOKING ON

This entry was posted on 05-11-2009 and is filed under HEAVEN.

Today we begin a new study on heaven. I know this subject is dear to many of you who faithfully read HFTR each day. As most of you know, my beloved father went to be with Christ on April 25. I was by his side when he took his last breath on this earth. It is my firm belief that his spirit was carried by the angels so that he could be "present with the Lord" in heaven. And so, let us begin this extended study on heaven by staying in the book of Hebrews, where we have been journeying some 40 days in chapter 11.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses..." (Heb. 12:1 NIV). What is the "therefore" there for? It takes us back to that great faith chapter where we have met so many wonderful men and women of faith. "All these people were still living by faith when they died: (11:13). They were "longing for a better country - a heavenly one" (11:16). "The world was not worthy of them" (11:38). Today their spirits are in that better country - that heavenly country. They are the ones of whom the text is speaking - "a great cloud of witnesses." Indeed, they are "the spirits of righteous men made perfect" (12:23).

My father attended nearly every one of my baseball and basketball games when I played those sports in high school. He sat in the bleachers and cheered for me. In my first game of baseball, played in Little League when we lived in Boise, Idaho, in the early 50s, I came to bat with the bases loaded. Dad was sick that day but he still came to the game, climbed up into the bleachers, so he could see his son play. When I hit a double, clearing the bases and driving in three runs, I could hear his voice: "That's my boy!" Think that didn't make me feel good? You know it did. I believe that our loved ones who have died in Christ are in this great heavenly grandstand, cheering for us. I do not believe that God would allow them to witness anything that would make them sad, for tears are not to be found in heaven. But I do believe they see us in our moments of challenge and victory. Shouting words of encouragement that never reach the earth's atmosphere, yet encourage us in spirit and resolve, they are the great cloud of witnesses. Let us so live and work and pray that they will have reason to rejoice!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for making a home for our loved ones. Help us to know that they are cheering for our success in the Christian life. Empower us to live above sin and for Christ each moment of our lives. Through Christ we pray.