Some of My Favorite Heaven Quotes

Have you ever thought about what Heaven will be like?

God’s Word gives us glimpses.

Our heavenly home will be MORE.

More radiant than we could ever imagine, and more joyful (all the time) than the best moment we’ve ever had in our whole lives here on earth.

But, more importantly, it will be MORE because we will be in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

Do you remember those promising words, the wonder and majesty in Heaven written about in the Book of Revelation?

John gives a firsthand account of seeing the new Jerusalem, words like:

Her brilliance was like a very valuable stone, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. – Revelation 21:11, (NASB).

And the city has no need of a sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. – Revelation 21:23, (NASB).

God tells us in His Word what He wants us to know about Heaven.

We have His mission here on earth to do before we even reach eternity.

However, out of sheer anticipation of our future home, I curated just a few of my favorite heaven quotes from theologians to stir your imaginations.

With discernment always and to be clear, these are not people who claim they visited Heaven (thank goodness), but Christian authors who anticipated Heaven as well.

I agree with D.L. Moody. I see no compelling reason to not think about Heaven. There is insight to be had from these Christian authors.

The Reason for our Anticipation

Any happiness found here in this world will not even compare to what we will experience in Heaven, says Martin Luther.

The following gives a whole new meaning to worshipping together!

Oh, Father, we long for the day when we can be there, the incredible world to come, and see your blazing, flashing majesty and reign on the thrones alongside of you and serve in your presence. We long for that day when we meet and fellowship with the saints of ages past and gather with all the redeemed. We desire so much to spend eternity visiting the New Jerusalem, the capital city of the new heaven and the new earth. – John MacArthur, Pastor and Bible teacher from Grace To You.

Delight in God and be with Him forever!

Nothing will compare to the smiles and joy we’ll experience as we worship our King.

How divinely full of glory and pleasure shall that hour be when all the millions of mankind that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God shall meet together and stand around Him, with every tongue and every heart full of joy and praise! How astonishing will be the glory and the joy of that day when all the saints shall join together in one common song of gratitude and love, and of everlasting thankfulness to this Redeemer! With that unknown delight, and inexpressible satisfaction, shall all that are saved from the ruins of sin and hell address the Lamb that was slain, and rejoice in His presence! – Isaac Watts, theologian and hymn writer.

Where is Heaven?

Heaven is not here, it’s There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for. – Elisabeth Elliot, Christian author and wife of missionary Jim Elliot.

This perverted world we now live in will someday fade away – but we won’t be grieving.

Everything will make perfect sense and we’ll be eternally joyful.

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Martin Luther quotation, courtesy of Christian quotes.info.

John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of GTY.org/library/sermons-library. 1 November, 1987. para. 83. Web. Accessed 8 July, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-13/where-heaven-is-and-what-it-is-like

Isaac Watts quotation, courtesy of Christian quotes.info.

Elisabeth Elliot quotation, courtesy of Christian quotes.info.

Independence Day 2022

On this July 4^th, 2022, we wanted to wish you and your loved ones a very happy and patriotic Independence Day.

May your get-togethers be full of love and gratitude for our great nation which was created by God.

There’s no doubt, more struggles and difficult challenges lay ahead for us.

What our nation needs is for people to seek God again.

Keep fighting the good fight and encouraging others to come to Christ.

¹²Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. – 1Timothy 6:12, (NASB).

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Our Exceptional God

The Unfinished Masterpiece in All of Us

Question: Why do I love writing about God?

I’m glad you asked (wink wink).

Simply, it’s because I’m grateful.

I’m grateful to God for His grace which I experienced first-hand.

Also, His love has put me in such a place of humility that I want to tell the world.

When I think back about our tragic family accident and how more of us on that vacation could have been killed, I’m reminded that God spared my life here for a reason.

In fact, we’re all here for a purpose – to reach others for Christ and to glorify God with the talents that He has given us.

Writing is kind of my “thang” (excuse the vernacular, but this is a come-as-you are blog.)

I’m not the best writer in the world, but I do have a passion to share Christian articles, short stories, music, and poems – anything that can bring glory to our Heavenly Father.

With that in mind, I want to share a little narrative poem that I wrote called “Unfinished Masterpiece” awhile back.

Unfinished Masterpiece in the Making

If you think about it, we are all unfinished masterpieces in the making – created by God.

The central character’s name in this narrative poem is Gina.

She’s a successful model with a high dollar contract.

Not only was she beautiful, Gina also had the makings of a superstar . . . until that one day in September when tragedy struck.

Gina is a believer, but her faith took a tumble after a terrible accident.

This is Gina’s story of God’s grace and providence.

Unfinished Masterpiece

“You can do this!”
the nurse said with a determined smile.
I sat up and pleaded,
“Can’t this wait awhile?”

She said “I know you’re scared, it’s okay to shed some tears.
Together, and with God, we’ll face all of your fears.”
Nurse Lee was my favorite, and I knew she meant well,
But this month of hurt and broken bones was like my own personal hell.

My face covered in bandages would in minutes be revealed.
A career-ending accident, my fate was surely sealed.
As a fashion model, my whole life was the pursuit of fame.
If my face is permanently scarred, they won’t remember my name.

In my dreams, I cried, “God
I know that You’re real.
But being thrown through a windshield ruining my life
was never part of the deal.”

Nurse Lee removed my bandages, one by one and with care.
I looked in the mirror, no words for what I saw there.
A big-jagged scar right near my hairline.
One eye was black and swollen, the other slightly blind.

I vented, “That’s it, then.
It’s all over for me.”
Nurse Lee shook her head,
“No – please don’t give up so easily.”

“Remember what I told you, Gina, these weeks that you’ve been here?
God is not done with you, actually this could be your year.”
“My year for what?” I said, “living in fear?
Saying goodbye to success and everything I’ve held dear?”
She reassured me, “You’re not alone, just call, and I’ll be here.”

“Nothing makes sense, Lee, why’d this happen to me?”
With the kindest of eyes, she replied,
“Don’t you see? God sees our joys and He also sees our pain.
No matter what happens, His love is the same.
Call on Jesus, and I promise that He’ll give you rest.
I know your life seems bad right now, but please know that you’re blessed.”

“You’re strong and determined, in time you can turn this around.”
I was so comforted by her words, I didn’t make a sound.
Her unwavering faith left me in complete awe.
Unconditional trust in God, not her pity, was what I saw.

I felt a glimmer of hope, no longer was I at wit’s end,
Lee wasn’t just my nurse, she was now my friend.
My modeling career is over, but there’s more for me in store
Only God can open a window, after the closing of a door.

I wanted her kind of faith, the same joy she had in her eyes,
The kind that could stand up boldly to all of Satan’s lies.
She’s right. My whole life’s not over, there’s much more I could be,
With God’s help I’ll find out.
I said, “Lee, will you pray for me?”

She gave me a hug, and gladly obliged.
At the end of her prayer, genuine tears she cried.
“I’m going to miss you here, Gina, but we’ll keep in touch.”
I replied from my heart, “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Remember, you are God’s masterpiece, but He’s not finished with you yet.”
My doubts began to fade and I was no longer upset.
My long hospital stay now over, I have a new life to begin.
It’s very slow-going, but my heart is on the mend.

I’ll never forget that day in September,
God sent me an angel of a nurse to remember.
My long, painful journey is to finally get to a Place
Where I’ll get to meet Jesus and personally thank Him for His Grace.

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Augustine quotation, influential early Christian church leader, courtesy of Christian quotes.info.

Our Exceptional God

It Wasn’t Me But Should Have Been

June 21, 2022 Gracie

Hey Boss, It Wasn’t Me

Do you have a pet peeve?

One thing that drives me crazy is to be blamed for something I didn’t do.

I remember back at one of the TV stations where I worked there was an intern who was answering phones in the newsroom. Unfortunately, she was rude to a caller.

Rightly so, the caller called back, asked to speak to the senior producer and complained.

The senior producer stormed out of her office, into the newsroom, and called all of us to the carpet for this intern’s mistake.

Loudly and angrily.

Wait a minute. It wasn’t me who did that!!

It didn’t matter, all of us were yelled at.

I made the mistake of shaking my head a little in frustration.

The boss saw me and then I also got into trouble!!

I can laugh about it now, but this reminds me of a good point.

It Wasn’t Me But Should Have Been

Remember this Bible verse from 1 Peter?

²⁴and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. – 1 Peter 2:24, (NASB).¹

In that verse from Peter’s address to the early church, he affirms that it is Jesus who, by His matchless grace, bore our sins to save us from eternal death.

It was our sinless Messiah on that cross who willingly took on the blame that, in reality, falls on us.

Blessed is the Lamb of God, “who takes away the sin of the world.”² (1 John 1:29)

The depths of His love are immeasurable by any human terms.

A Poem About God’s Grace

Recently I came across a poem I wanted to share written by gifted author, Louis Gander.

It’s a beautiful reminder of God’s grace and mercy towards man.

But Should Have Been 4-2-22

They slept and slept with weary eyes

while Jesus prayed with teary eyes.
He prayed in earnest while they slept,

but answered faithful. He’d accept.

It wasn’t me.

The night was looking mighty grim.

Then came, they, and arrested Him.

The charge was simple: blasphemy.

He didn’t plead nor disagree.

It wasn’t me.

And this is how the story goes:

They stripped Him of His humble clothes.

With bone-tipped violence He was whipped

and ev’ry time His skin was ripped.

It wasn’t me.

It wasn’t something He could toss.

He dropped that very heavy cross.

None could stop them, stop them now

as sweat poured off His heavy brow.

It wasn’t me.

They mocked Him with a crown of thorns.

The hate, the words, the sword, the scorns.

It’s hard to fathom these details,

then sore, He bore barbaric nails.

It wasn’t me.

His sacrifice was perfect love

both here on earth and Heav’n above.

It could have been a total loss

but Christ, Himself, endured that cross.

It wasn’t me.

God’s solemn will would then prevail,

and tore from top to bottom, veil.

Yes, Christ was hung for my sins then.

It wasn’t me… but should have been.

http://www.ganderpoems.org/³

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³Poetry courtesy of Louis Gander, ©2022 Louis Gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, “But Should Have Been.” [online post]. From Gander Story Poems, n.d. Web. Accessed June 18, 2022. https://www.ganderpoems.org/2022/04/but-should-have-been-4-2-22.html

Our Exceptional God

Three Encouraging Bible Verses

June 14, 2022 Gracie

Finding Hope in Three Encouraging Bible Verses

Do you have a special time of day when you read your Bible?

For me, the best time is right when I wake up.

I love the peace and quiet of the morning.

Often, I’m up between the hours of 4:30 and 5:00 a.m.

Granted, my PJ’s are still on and my bed hair could frighten children, but God doesn’t care.

He delights when we study His Word and worship Him.

There are so many passages in Scripture to treasure, but I wanted to share three encouraging Bible verses that speak to my heart.

Finding Hope in Three Encouraging Bible Verses

When I came to a saving faith in Christ and started reading my Bible at age 30, my whole perspective on life changed.

No longer did my faith take a backseat and I earnestly sought how I could use my God-given skills to glorify Him.

In this often dangerous world that we live in, His Word is the shining light that cuts through this present darkness and lights the way to our eternal victory through Jesus.

This universal calamity we’re all witnessing is temporary.

Delight in God Because He Delights in Us

Psalm 18 is a Psalm of David.

From what we read in the pages of this amazing scripture, God brought David out of the depths of despair into a life marked by humility and gratitude.

The verses end with “. . . because He delighted in me.”

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
But the Lord was my support.
¹⁹He also brought me out into an open place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me. – Psalm 18:18-19, (NASB).

Today’s world is consumed with distractions, temptations of the flesh, and fear.

It’s enough to grieve the heart of every Christian.

But, God hasn’t gone anywhere.

He loves us and delights in us as our Heavenly Father. That is the beauty of His character – we are still His children.

We fail Him daily and yet He still loves and delights in us. Someday we will be with Him in Heaven.

Talk about encouragement!

One of the reasons I named this blog “Delight-in-God” in the first place is because, as Christians, we know that He delights in us and wants us all to come to repentance in Him.

God Is Our Strength

The following verse in 2 Corinthians is a great example for us of the Apostle Paul’s complete trust in God, no matter how challenging and dangerous his daily circumstances were.

Remember that Paul was beaten, stoned, and thrown in prison several times for preaching the gospel.

2 Corinthians 12:10

I have to admit when I first became a Christian and read those words from Paul, it was a shocker.

How can anyone “delight” in persecutions? Is this for real?

Of course when you’re being persecuted, your first reaction might be sadness or anger . . . but delight?

I once read that sometimes God has to bring us to our knees for us to realize our need to trust Him, no matter what.

This is a constant lesson I need to remind myself in my very human desire to make a bad situation better quickly.

Jesus is the perfect divine example of endurance through suffering.

It may feel like we’re struggling with a mountain of issues, but we are not alone.

As I grow older and look back on the past challenging circumstances in my own life, I realize that my prayers for perseverance to cope with those situations and move forward were answered.

He Knows You and Me By Name

He knows our names

Our God – God of the entire universe knows you and me by name.

He knew you before you were even born . . . He saw you being born!

He sees you in a crowd, standing in line, sleeping . . . everywhere.

And, He looks upon you as His child, worthy of redemption and salvation through His Son – that blessed gift of grace when what we really deserve is death for our sins.)

Jesus wants to have a relationship with us.

What do you do when you love someone?

You think about them – a lot and all the time.

Lord, You have searched me and known me.
²You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far away.
³You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways. – Psalm 139:1-3, (NASB).

He knows us better than we know ourselves and, for that, we should be grateful.

Better Place, Divine Grace

I hope you’ve enjoyed these three encouraging Bible verses that I’ve shared.

There are many more that capture my heart that I’ll share at another time.

I’m grateful that God chose me and I rejoice with you that He chose you – my brother and sister in Christ.

As much as I love the many wonderful things that have happened (and will happen) in the rest of this life, I know that Heaven is going to be so much better.

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Our Exceptional God

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