FOR REAL

I am sitting here at my computer at 11:40pm. I have just finished one of the most amazing books outside of the Bible. Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. The book is about a little boy’s journey to heaven and back and it is all true. Once I started the book I couldn’t put it down, I cried and laughed and cried some more and then just because…I cried some more. Yet, I was not crying because it was saddening or terrifying. I cried because the book is a glimpse of God’s massive and passionate love for us. I would be reading the book well past midnight (the first night-because it did take me two nights to read), crying and saying to the Lord, “You are good.” God knows our heart, the desires of it, the pains of it and the things we keep to ourselves. God’s love for us is so strong it defeated death once and for all…sending His only Son to defeat death et al on the cross and opening the door to full access to the Heavenly Father through Jesus.
A month or so back another book caught my attention, 23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese. I couldn’t put that book down either, the man vividly described what he saw in hell and what God wanted him to share because God’s love is so strong He wants no one to go to hell. Hell wasn’t even made for people. I remember being troubled by this and what I had read and feeling that I need to have the same urgency, but not to declare “Hell is waiting for you, but God is waiting for you…choose His love.” We should spread the message of God’s love…that is more effective in emptying hell than scaring people to death. Yes, we need to realize hell is real and when people do not have a relationship with God they do not go to heaven and our hearts need to grieve over those who refuse God’s open hand. Go into all the world and spread the good news…Jesus loves you, wants to be with you…plain and simple. The way to heaven is narrow, but not complicated. Reading a book like Heaven is for Real reminds you of that. Jesus said we need to be like little children in Matthew 18:3, children are simple but smart, they have faith and what do they want most from their parents?…just to be with them, oh how we should have such a desire for our Father (He so obviously has that desire for us).

A door is opening…the light of God’s love and His intentions are shining through and it is so bright you almost have to close your eyes and open again, squint and ask yourself, “am I really seeing this, feeling this?” So yes, hell is for real and Satan and all that darkness, but heaven is real and God and His love and that far outweighs anything because remember in His word in Romans 8, He says, “nothing can separate us.”
Love died for us, defeated the grave, opened the door, cast out fear, is strong enough, is full enough and love’s name is Jesus and He is waiting…just waiting for you to say, “Yes.” Let me leave you with this one parting thought…
One of my parents favorite memories of when my daughter was small, was when her and I would pull up to their house, she would bound out of the car and throw their door open and holler with excitement, “I’mmmm heeerrrrree!!” Now Jesus says we are to be like little children and the Bible also says we are to come boldly or confidently into His throne room, now some of you may think “well, that’s not dignified or respectful,” but let me challenge you with this thought…my daughter did such things because she knew my parents would scoop her up with hugs and kisses and be oh so very happy to see her, so why wouldn’t our Heavenly Father do the same? Do you know Him for real?