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Then as I looked, I saw a door
standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke
to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I
will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in
the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.
Revelation 4:1-2 |
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We have come a long way on our journey,
from the first waves of shock and trauma until we can now speak
freely of moving on beyond our grief. Towards the end of his life,
the Lord reminded the evangelist David Watson of His priorities and
perspective.
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All your writing and all
your preaching are as nothing in comparison with your
relationship with Me.32 |
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In both Extraordinary
Miracles in the Lives of Ordinary People, and
Intimacy and Eternity,33 I shared a wonderful experience
of the nearness of Heaven that I was privileged to be
accorded many years ago. This both launched my ministry, and
has continued to influence my whole outlook on life and
eternity ever since. From time to time the Lord’s presence
draws close, and I catch the echo of Paul’s encouragement to
let Heaven fill my thoughts, (Colossians 3:2 LB).
Too much striving after earthly aspirations diminishes our
spiritual hunger. If something sharp is required to refocus
our priorities, why be surprised if the Lord allows
razor-edged trials to come our way? Anything is better than
settling for complacency!
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Reflect and Pray |
Take courage. No matter how much you
have suffered, or may yet have to go through, God is preparing you
for a lifetime in His presence. When God is ready, He will usher you
into the greater fullness of His Heavenly Kingdom.
All the things that have deeply possessed your soul have been but
hints of it – tantalising glimpses, promises never quite fulfilled,
echoes that died away just as they caught your ear. But if it should
really become manifest – if there ever came an echo that did not die
away but swelled into the sound itself – you would know it. Beyond
all possibility of doubt you would say, “Here at last is the thing I
was made for.”
Your place in Heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone,
because you were made for it – made for it stitch by stitch as a
glove is made for a hand. C.S. Lewis |
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Lord, You know, You
see, You hear –
every cry, every sadness, every sigh.
You know exactly what I am going through
and where You are taking me.
I give to You each grief that I have borne:
each dented dream,
each failure of faith or friendship.
Take these shards and slivers, Lord,
so that none turns septic
and taints my heart.
Make of these fragments
a full and pleasing mosaic.
I bless and forgive each person, young or old,
who has caused me grief or hindered my path.
I receive Your forgiveness too
for all the wrong that I have done ,
when I have caused others to stumble.
I bring You all who are in need
of Your profound refreshment:
and make myself available to You and to them,
In the name of the One Who strengthens me
from day to day,
and enables me to share in Your eternal life. |
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Appendix One
I GAVE THE FOLLOWING TALK at
a funeral reception recently after a friend’s mother died. It pulls
together many of the themes I have touched on in more depth
elsewhere in this book and I include it in the hope that it will be
of interest as well a spiritual resource.
Read More . . . |
References
32 Watson, D. Fear no Evil (1998) Hodder & Stoughton
33 Marszalek, T. Ed. (2007) Extraordinary Miracles in the Lives
of Ordinary People. Harrison House.
Intimacy and Eternity |
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