Waiting for the Bride-Groom

Lately work life for my husband and I has been pretty hectic. More so for him than for me. One thing i appreciate about Jonathan is his work ethic, but with lots of work comes lots of time at the office. I am in the process of learning (i'm almost positive it will take me years) to be content and encouraging when my husband has days of long work hours that keep him from home. I guarantee you my first reaction on long nights is usually anything but enthusiastic (which im sure is a healthy sign, but selfish at the core). Rather than building up my husband with kind and encouraging words i usually add to his stress because now not only does he have tons of work, but a pouty wife who will guilt trip him later. Tonight is one of those not so selfish nights, where im not leaping for joy that i have the house to myself, but i understand and am therefore supportive.

One thing i have realized just in not seeing my husband tonight is how much i miss him and long for him to be here. At the slightest indication that he is home i get all excited and giddy. I'll stop there with the mushy stuff, but in thinking about how much i am anticipating my husband coming home after just one and half days, it makes me think of our longing to be with Christ.

Here we are on earth, saved, justified, and now were being sanctified. How often do i long for heaven or the return of christ to come and claim his bride? The giddyness that i experience just in missing my husband for barely over a day should pale in comparison to how much i should be longing for christ to be reunited with the church. i admit i fall short in this area. I get focused on life here on earth and enjoying God and his creation now that i sometimes forget that i have heaven to look forward to. The great thing about these two parallels is that i have the happy ending of both hope and promise that both my husband and Christ are coming back.

Grace and Peace
sarah b.

Lead Me to it Soon

O LORD,
I live here as a fish in a vessel of water, only enough to keep me alive,
but in heaven I shall swim in the ocean.
Here I have a little air in me to keep me breathing,
but there I shall have sweet and fresh gales;
Here I have a beam of sun to lighten my darkness,
a warm ray to keep me from freezing;
yonder I shall live in light and warmth for ever.

My natural desires are corrupt and misguided,
and it is thy mercy to destroy them;
my spiritual longings are of thy planting,
and thou wilt water and increase them;
Quicken my hunger and thirst after the realm above.

Here I can have the world,
there I shall have thee in Christ;
Here is a life of longing and prayer,
there is assurance without suspicion, asking without refusal;
here are gross comforts, more burden than benefit,
there is joy without sorrow,
comfort without suffering,
love without inconstancy,
rest without weariness.

Give me to know that heaven is all love, where the eye affects the heart,
and the continual viewing of thy beauty keeps the soul in continual transports of delight.

Give me to know that heaven is all peace, where error, pride, rebellion, passion raise no head.

Give me to know that heaven is all joy,
the end of believing, fasting, praying, mourning, humbling, watching, fearing, repining;

And lead me to it soon.

--From The Valley of Vision: "Earth and Heaven"

Considering Heaven: Some Lyrics

I guess as kind of a "final" post for talking about meditating on Heaven I wanted to post some lyrics from songs about Heaven. There are many I could put, but here are just a few that I really liked.

"We shall all behold the King, and His holy praises sing,
Till the heav’nly arches ring, in that happy world above.
Nor shall sin e’er enter there, neither doubtings or despair,
Shall corrupt those mansions fair, in that happy world above.
Saints and angels in one throng, praise their King in rapturous song,
And the lofty strains prolong, in that happy world above."
--"That Happy World Above" by J.M. Huston

"Sweet paradise! my future home,The place of all the free;
Where never-fading flowers bloom—I long to dwell in thee.
Sweet paradise! where we shall meet, and with our Savior reign,
Beyond the final judgment seat, where comes no sinful stain.
Sweet paradise! no night can fall on thy resplendent shore;
Celestial day shines over all, and shall forevermore.
Sweet paradise! oh, joys untold! ’Tis there I long to fly,
Where worlds of pleasure will unfold, where man shall never die."
--"Sweet Paradise" by Barney E. Warren

"Sweet place; sweet place alone!
The court of God most high,The heaven of heavens, the throne Of spotless majesty!
O happy place! When shall I be, my God, with Thee,To see Thy face?
No tears from any eyes drop in that holy choir,
but death itself there dies, and sighs themselves expire.
There should temptations cease, my frailties there should end.
There should I rest in peace In the arms of my best friend."
--"Sweet Place" by Samuel Crossman

"The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of Heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

The King there in His beauty, without a veil is seen
It were a well spent journey, though seven deaths lay between
The Lamb with His fair army, doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove,
And aye, the dews of sorrow were lustered with His love;
I’ll bless the hand that guided, I’ll bless the heart that planned
When throned where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Soon shall the cup of glory wash down earth’s bitterest woes,
Soon shall the desert briar break into Eden’s rose;
The curse shall change to blessing the name on earth that’s banned
Be graven on the white stone in Immanuel’s land.

They’ve summoned me before them, but there I may not come,
My Lord says “Come up hither,” My Lord says “Welcome home!”
My King, at His white throne, my presence doth command
Where glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land."
--"The sands of time are sinking" by Anne Cousin

Considering Heaven: An Invitation

When we set our minds on things above and fill our minds with the Bible's teachings on Heaven, then there should be much blessing and motivation for our living in the present. Yet our meditation on Heaven should also spur us on in our proclamation of the Savior. If we are truly loving God and man, and truly excited about the New Heavens and the New Earth then we ought to be eager to extend the Gospel invitation to the world.

Consider these passages from the Word of God:

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come'. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price."

- Revelation 22:17

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

- Matthew 11:28-30

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live..."

- Isaiah 55:1-3a

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst'."

- John 6:35

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

- John 3:16

Are we eager to declare the power of God for salvation? Are we eager to join Christ and say "come to find rest"? When we think about the glories of Heaven we should be all the more inspired to preach the message of these verses to the lost. For those who are hungry, thirsty, and heavy laden the invitation of the Gospel is there. Simply come. Christ's perfect life, substitutionary death, and glorious resurrection have secured for us peace with God. When we think about Heaven and being able to worship in the presence of our Creator and Redeemer, satisfied, unstained, and restored for eternity, our passion for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ ought to be increased. When we meditate on the infinite majesty of our King and the reality that we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He is, then we ought to more greatly desire to proclaim the Wedding Feast invitation!

Do we have a genuine desire that none should perish but that all should repent and find salvation in Jesus? Is that our passion? Do we want everyone to love our King and to experience the indescribable joy, glory, and peace of being in His majestic and loving presence in the New Heavens and the New Earth for eternity?

It is really quite a simple thought. If we consider how glorious, how beautiful, how joyous, how desirable, how breath-taking, how shockingly, mind-blowingly awesome it will be to forever be with the One who gave us life and breath and rescued us from sin and death, then we ought to be more eager to invite anyone and everyone to come to Christ that they might worship Him forever in the Kingdom of God. This is a convicting thought for me. May the Lord grace us with His love and strength that we might be empowered to preach the Gospel as we should. I believe that when we meditate on the glory and wonder of Heaven, then we will be more eager to extend the Gospel invitation to those who are lost.

Considering Heaven: A Motivation

We have already looked at the fact that meditating on Heaven brings blessing. What I would like to think about in this post is the idea that meditating on Heaven brings motivation. I do believe that when we spend time thinking about, reading about, meditating on, and singing about Heaven we will find motivation to seek to be who our Father has called us to be. If we set our minds on things above, then I believe that our hearts will experience motivation for obedience, love, and sacrifice.

We have been commanded to be holy as our Heavenly Father is holy (1 Peter 1:14-16). Jesus said that the pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Though we do not obey God's law in order to earn salvation, we do seek to obey His word because we love Him and we want to live lives of worship. When, by faith, we meditate through the Scriptures upon the glorious perfection and the infinite purity of our King on His throne, then the impurities of the world seem all the more vile and repulsive. When our minds biblically picture our Savior reigning in the New Heavens and the New Earth, where the old things have faded, where newness and restoration abound, where sin has no place, then our desires for the fleeting pleasures of sin are weakened. If we could realize and think about the beautiful purity of our future home, would it not fill our hearts with zeal in our preparation for it? We ought to begin pursuing and enjoying this purity and righteousness all the more today so "that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming"(1 John 2:28). We ought to find motivation for obedience when we meditate on the pure, spotless, and perfect place to which we are going.

God has called His children to love. Jesus summarizes the commandments by saying we ought to love God and love God's image-bearers (Matthew 22:37-40). We are on our way to the Kingdom of love. When we think about the beautiful, tender, affectionate love that rules in Heaven, we ought to be motivated all the more to love others! What a love God lavishes upon us! God will be with us and we will be His people in His presence. God's love is so indescribably astounding. In the gospels we see God wiping away dirt from people's feet; in Revelation we see God wiping away tears from people's eyes. The thought of God dwelling with His people is breath-takingly stunning enough, yet He also wipes away the tears of His children! The holy Maker of all things brushes away the tears from the faces of the people that He created, loved, and adopted as His children. What a lavish, affectionate, and motivating love! Jesus went to prepare a place for us. God is getting ready to welcome us home to a place that is filled with infinite, matchless, and majestic love. How much should we love others in light of the love God has shown us and will show us? We should even love our enemies in light of the reward. "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High" (Luke 6:35). Reminding our souls of the glorious Kingdom where love is so brilliantly shining should bring motivation for us to love God and love people.

To meditate upon Heaven is to meditate upon sacrifice. When we read through Revelation it can be surprising to see the songs of violence that are sung.

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" -Revelation 5:12
The only reason we can have hope of Heaven is because of sacrifice. The only reason that we can meditate upon Heaven is because of sacrifice, so we aren't meditating on Heaven biblically if we don't think about the Lamb that was slain. The Author of life, our precious Christ, was murdered that "he might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus Christ was killed and raised up so that we could know God and have everlasting life. How could we not now make any sacrifice necessary for Him? He laid down His life that we might know an abundant and eternal life. When we reflect upon Heaven's song of sacrifice, we ought to be driven to give up whatever needs to be given so that our worship might be holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1). When we gaze upon the picture in Revelation of the lamb that was slain we ought to find motivation to make any physical, mental, spiritual, philosophical, or financial sacrifice that needs to be made that we might glorify our Savior.

Filling our minds with thoughts of Heaven not only brings blessing but it also brings motivation. We ought to be stirring up in our souls and in the souls of others excitement about our future dwelling place with our King. When we increase in Heavenly-mindedness then we will have fewer worldly distractions and our hearts will desire greater things for our Lord. If we set our minds on things above, then I believe, by God's grace, we will be more motivated to pursue obedience, love, and sacrifice for the sake of our great and awesome Creator.

Considering Heaven: A Blessing

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near". --Revelation 1:1-3

"And he said to me, " These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book". --Revelation 22:6-7

There is much good to be received from meditating on the promises of God. The Lord has told us in His writings, that for those who read, hear, and keep the words concerning the future of all things will be blessing. The followers of Christ who meditate upon Heaven have the Father's promise of blessing. What does this mean? What is this blessing? I believe the blessing can be different things, but I definitely think that some elements of this blessing are hope, joy, and peace for the here and now.

To state the obvious, we live in a fallen world. The curse has touched and tarnished virtually everything that we see and feel. There are bitter, terrible, nightmarish trials and temptations that rack the souls and bodies of the faithful and the faithless alike. For those who do not cling to Christ for salvation, there is utterly no hope. They will suffer their way through a life plagued with sin, temptation, pain, trial, sadness, questions, no answers, and tears; and then they will die and enter into the wrath of God that will hold them in eternal torment for their rebellion. This is a bleak and painful picture that is difficult to look at. Yet this seems to be the teaching of the Bible.

However... the child of God has a hope, joy, and peace beyond words! Christ has purchased for us an everlasting salvation! Jesus said, "I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am". (John 14:2-3)

Yes we will walk through our time on earth and experience much affliction. We will be tempted. We will sin. We will hurt. Yet look at what's on the other side! Set your mind on the things that are on the other side! God will restore all things to Himself. One day we will walk on a New Earth, with restored bodies and we will suffer no more. No longer will we do that which we hated yet kept doing (Romans 7:15-25). Sin, temptation, tears, death, and pain will be abolished from the eternal, pure, radiant Kingdom of our Creator. Thinking thoughts like this will bless us with hope, joy, and peace even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. When we remember, consider, and believe that we have a better and abiding possession and a great reward waiting for us; then our hearts will experience these blessings (Hebrews 10:34-35).

Consider this quote from Steve Lawson: "God's glory will fill and permeate the entire new Heaven, not just one centralized place. Thus, where ever we go in Heaven, we will be in the immediate presence of the full glory of God. Wherever we go, we will enjoy the complete manifestation of God's presence. Throughout all eternity, we will never be separated from direct, unhindered fellowship with God".

Jonathan Edwards said this, "God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows. But the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean". These thoughts are amazing and definitely worth meditating on! These ideas based out of Scripture are meant to bless the hearts of Christ-followers. Here are three simple thoughts about meditating on Heaven:

1. When we meditate on what God is preparing for us we can be blessed with hope even though there is pain because we know that this pain is not eternal.

2. When we think about spending eternity with the Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us we can be blessed with peace even though we are being afflicted with temptation because we know that no unclean thing will enter into our future destination: the matchless city of our God.

3. When we set our minds on things above we can be blessed with joy even though we are walking through a difficult trial because we know that He is coming soon.

If we lift our eyes from the difficulties of this world and set them upon the vision of Heaven as shown in the Scriptures, then our perspective on everything begins to align more with our Father's. I believe that we can experience hope, joy, and peace simply from consistently directing our heart's gaze to the Promised land of joyous love and glorious light. May the Lord help us to read, hear, and keep the words in our Bible concerning Heaven that we may receive His blessing and glorify His name.

Considering Heaven

How often do we meditate upon and consider Heaven? Is it common for us to let our imaginations run wild, within the Biblical parameters, in regard to that blessed, hope-inspiring, joy filled reality that awaits us? Are we filled with a holy longing for this place? Or do we consider meditating on Heaven to be unimportant and only to be a pursuit of kids and baby Christians when they are first exposed to the truth of God?

This is something that I need to pursue more: meditating upon Heaven. So, I'd like to have a few posts on this blog considering Heaven. I would like to look at the blessing for those who meditate on Heaven, the motivation that comes from thinking about Heaven, and the eagerness that we should have in participating in the invitation to the Wedding Feast.

The Bible has much to say about this glorious topic! Admittedly, there are many thoughts about Heaven in the Word that are difficult to understand. There are many confusing verses that we must wrestle with; but we are called to "seek the things that are above" and "to set our minds on things above, not on things that are on earth" (Colossians 3:1-2). This command, as any command given by our King, is for our joy and good and God's joy and glory. We are given the liberating command to aim our minds upward. Our affections, imaginations, and dreams are to be targeted upon the heavenly realm. Matthew Henry stated that "we must mind the concerns of another world more than the concerns of this".

When I was a kid (or a younger kid I guess), I would think about Heaven quite a bit. In fact, I can even remember having dreams about Heaven. As a child, my thoughts and imaginations about Heaven were scattered and not all that well guided; but they were exiting!
As children of God we should, in a sense, let our curiousities, imaginations, and longings "get the best of us" in a Spirit-guided, Biblically-driven way about what is ahead for us. I believe we should be growing in exitement about Heaven!

Why? We already observed Colossians 3:1-2 where are we are instructed to. Yet the Bible also commands us "to long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it we may grow up to salvation" (1 Peter 2:2) and "to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). We are commanded to grow, and growth does not happen apart from the Word of God (Psalm 1). To overlook studying, considering, and meditating upon Heaven is to essentially overlook a good portion of God's Word that is meant for our blessing and hope. One of the reasons we must study and meditate on Heaven, is for our growth in the Christian life. I plan to spend time in future posts addressing this.

And I don't mean meditating on a "pie in the sky", super-spiritual, harps and halos, everlasting sunday school. I mean considering and getting exited about the picture of Heaven that God paints in His Word. This Heaven is a physical place where we will work and play in restored, perfected bodies; where the dwelling place of God is with men; where all our tears will be wiped away; where death is no more; where crying is no more; where former things are passed away; where all things are made new; where there is no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb; where there is no need for sun and moon for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb; where the gates will never be shut by day; where there will be no unclean thing; and where there will be no night!

This is a place that should stir up exitement, hope, joy, and a passion for proclaiming the Gospel in the here and now. To worship in the presence of the gracious, merciful, mighty, just, faithful, true, holy, and glorious King of kings and Lord of lords who spoke the universe into being, formed us from dust, conquered sin and death spilling out redemption upon the world, and who promises to restore and renew all things to Himself is a hope that should transform the way we think, speak, and act! I hope that through thinking thoughts about Heaven we will be encouraged to live lives of hopeful, joyous, and obedient worship to our Savior and Lord.

Meditate upon Heaven

Here are some wonderful thoughts from James Meikle about Heaven.

"All at once I find myself in an unbounded flood of bliss, a spacious sea of glory; lost in wonder amidst ineffable delights, and transported with the raptures of seraphic harmony!

While all His saints rejoice in His excellent glory--what ardor glows in every soul--what rapture swells in every song! O the adorable displays of His perfections--the manifestations of His goodness--the outlettings of His love! Here we received out of His fullness--grace upon grace and glory upon glory. Our possession is worthy of our liberal Giver.

We have . . .
a kingdom which cannot be moved,
an undefiled inheritance, which does not fade away,
a city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God,
garments of glory,
a crown of righteousness,
the tree of life to feed upon,
the fountain of life to drink of,
the garden of God to walk in,
life above the reach of death,
health secured from sickness,
pleasure without pain.

Our bodies are immortal,
our souls immaculate,
our senses sanctified,
our conceptions spiritualized,
our faculties enlarged,
and our whole soul replenished by divinity.

Our past bliss is with us in the sweet remembrance, our present bliss entrances in the enjoyment, and our future bliss is present with us in the full assurance of our eternal felicity. Thus we are forever blessed to the highest degree. We are above all fear, beyond anxiety and doubt, and fixed above all change.

Our service is sincere,
our adorations ardent,
our knowledge profound and satisfying.

Rapture rushes in at every part! Our eyes are ravished with seeing the King in His beauty;our ears are ravished with hearing the songs of the inner temple;our nostrils are ravished with the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon, the plant of renown; our feet are ravished with standing in His holy place; our hands are ravished with handling of the word of life; and our mouths are ravished with the wine of our Beloved, which goes down sweetly, causing our souls to shout aloud, and the lips to sing, and never cease.


Our experience of His fullness, our vision of His perfections and glory--constitute our most exalted bliss, and are the heaven of heavens! O what torrents of eternal love teem from the throne into our souls!

O the pleasure that is in His presence!

O the exuberant rivers of joy that flow at His right hand! O love! never to be forgotten--which has brought me safely through so many winding labyrinths and crooked paths, in sight of so many enemies--in spite of . . . a tempting devil, the accusations of my sins, the rebellion of my lusts, the carnality of my affections, and the weakness of all my graces--to dwell at last forever in heavenly bliss!O eternity! once the comfort of our longing expectations--now the transport of our enlarged souls!

For we are . . .
forever with the Lord, seeing His unclouded face,
wearing His divine name,
drinking at the streams of His pleasures,
eating of His hidden manna,
sitting beneath the Tree of life,
basking under the beams of the Sun of righteousness,
singing hallelujahs to Him who loved us, who washed us from our sins in His blood, and brought us here to be with Him forever!

O state of complete happiness and consummate bliss!"

Heaven Song

I would pretty much recommend Phil Wickham's music to anyone. I just recently got his album, "Heaven and Earth", and I have enjoyed it very much. It is a passionate and creative album that has been helpful to me in lifting my gaze to heaven, the gospel, and the beauty of God's plan. Here are some lyrics from the album...


"Heaven Song"

You wrote a letter and You signed Your name
I read every word, read it page by page
You said that You'd be coming
coming for me soon
Oh my God I'll be ready for You

I want to run on greener pastures
I want to dance on higher hills
I want to drink from sweeter waters
in the misty morning chill
And my soul is getting restless
For the place where I belong
I can't wait to join the angels
and sing my heaven song

I hear Your voice and I catch my breath
Well done my child enter in, in rest
As tears of joy roll down my cheek
Oh it's beautiful beyond my wildest dreams