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What is heaven like? Heaven already exists, but it's not in its final form, according to scripture. The Bible refers to a place where God is and where Jesus returned to when He ascended from earth. This place is a realm where followers of Jesus are fully alive in completely perfect bodies, having shed the broken-down versions we lived in on earth.  The Apostle Paul wrote, "we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself" (2 Corinthians 4:14).

Let's play a word association game:  what comes to mind when you hear the word, "obedience?"  My friend, Luisa, comes back with "blessing."  I, on the other hand, think, "coercion, followed by…spanking."  I recall a Christian parenting program that instructed parents to insist on first-time obedience from their children, or else!

Jesus is one person, but in Scripture and in our relationships with Him, we see so much of our own humanity.  First, each of us sees Jesus as He relates to us, and us to Him. Because Jesus was fully God and fully man, we all can each see ways that "Jesus was just like me."

It used to be popular to put adhesive stickers on the bumper of your car, endorsing a politician or bragging that your kid was an honor student at the local elementary school.  One especially irritating bumper sticker read, "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven."  It was infuriating when the driver of a car with this sticker on it cut you off in traffic. Jesus, himself, showed open anger for religious people who honored Him with their lips when their hearts were far from Him. (Mark 7:7)

My son once took part in a discipleship program that involved mountaineering activities.  One night was spent deep down in a cave, with this restriction:  no light of any kind was allowed.  Some found it difficult to sleep, panicking, unable to discern up, down or even the passing of time. 

Old Testament law of the Bible dictated that farmers should cut grain in a circular pattern.  This left the corners of a field untouched, so that poor people and immigrants could harvest there for free. Few of us own fields today, so how can we interpret this? Yes, you can give money to people who help the poor, but you're passing helping to the hands of others. There's something exciting about giving directly to another person who has a need; that's why God put hundreds of reminders to care for the poor in the Bible. 

When I was a kid, I lost my backpack on a bus. It held some clothing and all my money, about $10. When I discovered it was gone, I was distraught. I cried as we searched all around us. My dad said he would replace the money, which only pained me more because I knew he didn't have much either. Imagine my relief when a passenger discovered that my backpack had slid under the seats up to the front of the bus!

When Candice first noticed Leon's cough, she never dreamed that Leon would spend six months in the hospital, too weak to talk on the phone, with Candice unable to visit him.  When Leon finally returned home, much suffering was behind him but there was still a long journey of recovery ahead of him.

Children love the story in the Bible of the boy David defeating the giant Goliath with a slingshot. It illustrates something that we believe is impossible by the time we reach adulthood – conquering a problem that is much bigger than us with just a flick of the wrist. It wasn't David's good aim that defeated an outsized enemy, but the power of God. Even so, sometimes we need help finding the right tools.

Are you a rule breaker?  Rule-breakers are often glamorized-- the bad boy, the rebel in real life, the guy who says, "I'll do it, my way."  Religious people, of course, also do things, "their way," proudly keeping the rules and feeling pretty good about it. Both rule breaking and rule keeping are both just symptoms of sin. The rule breaker says, "I don't need God," and the rule keeper says, "Aren't you impressed, God?  Look at my checked list of dos and don'ts!  I'm doing everything right!"