Heaven is an actual place of relationships!

God’s Kingdom and dominion are not about what happens on some remote, unearthly place; instead, they are about what happens on the earth, an actual place, which God created for his glory. God has tied his glory to the earth and everything connected with it: Mankind, animals, trees, rivers, everything. 

Isaiah (6:3) says, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” His glory is manifested in his creation and His relationship with that which He created. The Hebrew here can be translated, “the fullness of the earth is his glory.”  This earth and the restored earth of our future is a place of relationship.

God does not see you and this earth as disposable. It and you are essential for his plan … he created you so that you could have a relationship with him and Heaven is an actual place of relationship. 

You know I love ya, Don

It's all about a relationship!

John 3:16, “For God so love that He gave His one and only son.” Relationship is the goal of the resurrection. Relationship is the connection between God and His creation. God was so moved to be involved in your life that he was willing to step out of eternity and into history to be with you. This desire is especially in regards the way he was willing to die for you.

The what of the resurrection is that we have a relationship with Jehovah God.

There's an old story of the boy who sat, waiting for a bus. A man walking by spotted the boy, and gave him some gentle instruction. "Son," he said, "if you're waiting on the bus, you need to move to the bus stop. That's where the bus stops for passengers."

"It's OK," said the boy. "I'll just wait right here, and the bus will stop for me."

The man repeated his argument, but the boy never moved. Just then, the bus appeared. Amazingly, the bus pulled over to where the boy stood, and the child hopped on. The man on the sidewalk stood speechless. The boy turned around in the doorway and said, "Mister, I knew the bus would stop here, because the bus driver is my dad!"

When you've got a family relationship with the bus driver, you don't need a bus stop. If you father is a busy CEO, you don’t have to wait to get a hearing. If your dad is a US Senator, you won't need an appointment to slip into his office. If you've given your heart to the King of Kings, you're in his royal family of unspeakable proportions. God is waiting to hear and have a relationship with you. The what of the resurrection is the why of a relationship.  2 Corinthians 5:15: “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”  He has a deep love for us and he desires a relationship with us.

Glad for my relationship with you the reader...You know I love ya, Don

 

Six Praise Worthy Attributes of God!

Who is God? It is a good question that everyone in this room will have to struggle with at some point in their life. In our text we see in verse 15, “You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” We don't have time to talk about everyone aspect of God, but these six are attributes that encourage us to give thanks. 

GOD IS KNOWABLE!
God, who created the universe in all of its magnitude and creative details, is able to be known, by us. He tells us about himself, but even goes beyond that. He welcomes us into a relationship, so that we personally can get to know him. Not only can we know about him, we can know him, intimately.

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the Lord,
who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight," declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23,24)

GOD IS APPROACHABLE!
God invites us to talk to him and engage him in what concerns us. We don't have to get our act together first. Neither do we need to be polite, theologically correct or holy. It is his nature to be loving and accepting when we go to him.

"The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth." (Psalms 145:18)

GOD IS CREATIVE!
Everything we make is put together with existing materials or built on previous thoughts. God has the capacity of speaking things into existence, not just galaxies and life forms, but solutions to today's problems. God is creative, for us. His power is something he wants us to be aware of and to rely on.

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit." (Psalms 147:5)

"...where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalms 121:1,2)

GOD IS FORGIVING!
We sin. We tend to do things our way instead of God's way. And he sees it and knows it. God does not merely overlook such sin, but is prepared to judge and condemn people for their sin. However, God is forgiving and will forgive us from the moment we begin a relationship with him. Jesus, the Son of God, paid for our sin with his death on a cross. He rose from the dead and offers us this forgiveness.

"We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done... We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us." (Romans 3:22,25)

GOD IS HONEST!
Just like a person who lets you know their thoughts and feelings, God clearly tells us about himself, the possible difference being, he is always honest. Everything he says about himself, or about us, is reliable information. Truer than our feelings, thoughts, and perception, God is totally accurate and honest in what he says. Every promise he makes to us can be fully counted on, he means it. We can take him at his word.

"The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path." (Psalms 119:130,105)

GOD IS CAPABLE!
How would you like to be always 100% right, about everything? God is. His wisdom is unlimited. He understands all the elements of a situation, including the history and future events related to it. We do not have to update him, counsel him or persuade him to do the right thing. He will, because he is capable and his motives are pure. If we trust him, he will never make a mistake, never undercut us or deceive us. He can be fully trusted to do what is right, in all circumstances, at all times.

"No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame..." (Psalms 25:3)

Life is about having a relationship with God...in any good relationship the goal is to get to know each other better. The question is...are you getting to know God? You cannot give thanks without knowing God...you cannot know your destiny of praise without knowing God. Are you working on getting to know God.

You know I love ya, Don