Tag: Heaven

Being Sabbath-Minded

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Jeremiah 17: 24 – 25

But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me,” declares the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work in it, then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.

Revelation 21: 2 – 5

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

We, usually, pray when we have a need, like healing, provision or salvation of a loved one, among many other needs. Not that there is anything wrong with it. We are asked to enter into God’s presence with confidence with all our requests, only believing that He will answer our prayers. As a child confidently approaches his/her father for things they need, so can we approach our Heavenly Father’s presence with what we need. In times of desperation, despite all our efforts, we can’t solve our problems. In such times, we always run to God. God does wants us to come to Him with all our needs, not just some of them.

We, who are the creatures hand-crafted by God, are vessels ordained for worship of our Heavenly Father. Our primary and only focus should be worshipping Him. How many times are we entering into His presence only to worship Him? Our only petition when we enter to worship Him is that He accepts our praise, worship and thanksgiving. Do our hearts long to worship Him or do the cares of this world distract our focus away from worship of Him? When we enter His presence, nothing of ours should go with us. We must leave our cares outside, emptying ourselves completely, before we enter His presence.

When God spoke through Prophet Jeremiah about not carrying any loads into the city gates on a Sabbath, He was saying not just physical load but even our mental and emotional loads. When we enter the City of God on a Sabbath, we are not supposed to carry any of our burdens in but leave behind at the city gates and enter the City, completely empty and naked. Neither our strengths, our skills, our talents, nor our burdens are required inside the Holy City. We enter in through the City gates for the sole purpose of worshipping the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

King David, a man after God’s heart, longed to worship the Lord always. In Psalm 27: 4, David declares, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” Joshua remained in the tabernacle of the Lord even after Moses left. Do we like these stalwarts of faith, also love to be in the presence of the Lord just to worship and behold Him? If our hearts are always delighted to be in His presence, casting aside the cares of this world, then we will be sabbath-minded. Our very beings, every cell in our bodies, leaps in joy to be in His presence.

Mark 2: 27 – 28

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Christ declared that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is the only one to be worshipped for He alone has conquered sin and death. He alone is worthy to behold. There is coming a Sabbath day, when we will enter the Heavenly Jerusalem, where there is no pain nor sorrow but only joy. All old things will pass away so much so that they will not even come to our remembrance. Everything is made new. The old earth and old Heaven are gone and replaced with a new earth and a new Heaven. We will be preoccupied in worshipping and adoring the Lamb of God, slain for all mankind.

Dear Saint of God, let us enter into this Kingdom of God with confidence so our heart’s desire will be fulfilled. Let us leave our burdens outside the City gates and enter into His rest. We may be heavy-laden but let us swap our burdens with His, which is light and easy. Let us be Sabbath-minded when we enter into His rest. In entering such rest, there is a blessing of prosperity. All the cares of this world will dwindle and pass away. Let us not give up on the glory that awaits us by focusing on these momentary afflictions we may be going through. Let us not be preoccupied by the cares of this world but be preoccupied in worship of Him. Let us join with David in desiring to be in His presence for all eternity. In the end, that is our true heart’s desire: to be in His house, burden-free so our hearts will worship and adore the True King.

Matthew 11: 28 – 30

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Being Heavenly Minded

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Matthew 6: 19 – 21

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6: 30

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

Matthew 6: 33

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

A dear friend reminds me often that if God calls her home, I should be ready to pick up the mantle. Until I met her, heaven, eternity, and rapture were on the back of my mind. I knew and understood that heaven is my eternal home but I was caught up with the things of the world. I am so blessed to have crossed paths with this saint who is heavenly minded in all her dealings. She is joyfully ready to enter into eternity. Her faith, her readiness and her heavenly mind inspired me to shift my focus as well.

Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, spoke of storing up treasures in heaven. His listeners must’ve wondered how they could store treasures in heaven, when they haven’t even been there. Jesus spoke extensively about the Kingdom of God. John baptized people and asked them to ‘repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand’ (Matthew 3: 2). Jesus desired that His people who believe in Him would be with Him for all eternity. In other words, He urged the people to not be in pursuit of the worldly fame and fortune, which will be destroyed. Rather pursue holiness which will be accounted as righteousness.

Furthermore, He mentioned that we will be clothed. If a lily of the field can be a beautiful blossom one day and is withered the following day, then how much more our Savior who redeemed us with His precious blood is willing to give us robes of righteousness? Our Savior who has ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us will come back to receive us unto Himself. Where He is, there we will be also for all eternity. We are not only clothed in robes of righteousness but we also will receive new and glorified bodies.

Dear Heavenly Minded Saint, what then is our task? To live our lives for Him. With our minds, hearts and eyes fixed on heaven, we must carry out our earthly responsibilities with due diligence. Let us not focus on earning wealth. Instead, let us focus on earning souls for the Kingdom of heaven. Let us not seek worldly fame, which vanishes like a mist. Instead let us focus on how our lives can be salt and light in this dark world. We must continue the good fight of faith as Paul instructs Timothy, holding onto eternal life. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6: 12). Our task on this earth, in these clay tabernacles is to be rich in good works, to be generous, kind, and merciful which then equates to storing up treasures in heaven. When our whole being is desirous of being heaven bound, then nothing in this world can tie us down.

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed (1 Timothy 6: 18 – 19).

The heritage you inherit is not nearly as important as the legacy you leave. The legacy you leave is not nearly as important as the eternity you enter.