Month: November 2021

Everyone who has ever attended church, especially saved Christians, are familiar with John 3:16. This is the most famous verse in the Bible and the one most often memorized and quoted. I memorized John 3:16 as a child in Sunday school and it has stuck with me ever since. It’s the only Bible verse I can recite correctly to this day even though my skill at memorization has faded badly over the years. John 3:16 is so popular with everyone because it tells us exactly what we want to know and what we need to know, in clear language. John 3:16 is refreshing, like a glass of cold water to a thirsty man. It really hits the mark.

John 3:16 – (Jesus speaking) – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

As human beings we fully understand the father-son relationship laid out in John 3:16 and the love that entails. We intuitively understand that God’s greatest possession in heaven is his Son Jesus Christ, just like our children are to us. We know without having to be told that God loves Jesus more than anything else in heaven. So when God tells us he is willingly sacrificing the life of Jesus to save us God is telling us he loves us just as much as he loves Jesus. God not only tells us how much he loves us, he proves it by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. John 3:16 proves to us, without any reservation whatsoever, that God dearly loves us. The second thing John 3:16 tells us is that we have salvation unto eternal life if we believe in Jesus Christ. To believe means we, through faith, accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. This one sentence in the Scriptures confirms to us without any shadow of doubt that God loves us dearly and we have eternal life in heaven with God if we believe in Jesus Christ. John 3:16 gives us peace with God where before there was enmity and the peace of God where before there was fear about the future.

John 10:10 – (Jesus speaking) – I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The “they” in the above verse refers to the body of Christ; believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In this verse of Scripture Jesus is letting us know that he is the beloved Son of God referenced in John 3:16, who has come down from heaven to give his life as a ransom for us. That through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross and the shedding of his blood we have forgiveness of our sins by God the Father. By “life” Jesus means eternal life in heaven. When Jesus says we “may” have life he means eternal life is not given automatically. Man has the free will choice to accept the grace of God or not. God has graciously provided a means for fallen man to escape eternal death in hell. Men must make the choice to serve God or Satan. The second part of the verse says that our promised life “may” be had more abundantly. Abundantly means, “in large quantities; plentifully.” Jesus is promising a more abundant life not only on earth but also in heaven. Again, the word “may” means the promise is not automatic from God but is contingent on us asking for our abundance in prayers to God. Praying to God in this life allows God to bless us now while building up treasures for us in heaven before we get there. We must become prayer warriors for God in order to receive the all the blessings God has planned for us.

James 5:16 – The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

God has prescribed prayer as the way for his special creatures (us) to talk with him. In James 5:16 God explains to us how we are to pray to him. God talks to us primarily through the Bible and God uses the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual truths to us through the pages of the Bible so that we can know God better and what we must do to please God. As believers we are children of God and if we want to please God we must read the Bible regularly (daily if possible) and obey the commandments of God contained in his word. Our minds are the conduit between the physical world and the spiritual world. We access the throne of grace through out minds. Satan and his demons cannot attack us in the physical world but they can attack us from the spiritual world through our minds because our minds are portals to the spiritual world and they can reach through to oppress us mentally. We must be prepared to resist the mental assault of the wicked one and that comes by knowing the Bible and then praying to God for his help and protection.

To me James 5:16 is the most important verse in the entire Bible because it is the key that unlocks the blessings of God contained in the Bible. James 5:16 tells us exactly how to make our prayers pleasing to God so he will answer them. The ten words of this verse say a lot so let’s break down the seven most important words in this verse and examine each word for content and meaning (prayer, man, righteous, avails, much, fervent and effective):

1.Prayer – In the dictionary prayer is defined as, “a request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God.” Prayer is how we talk to God. We know that James 5:16 is exclusively talking about believers talking to God. Only believers have access to the throne room of God in prayer. Nonbelievers do not have their prayers heard or answered.

2.Man – In the dictionary man is defined as, “human beings in general”. Angels have no need for prayer because they’re always in the presence of God. Demons serve Satan and they could not and would not be praying to God. Prayer is the exclusive province of believers as God’s prescribed way for us to communicate with him one on one.

3.Righteous – The dictionary defines “righteous” as, “morally right or justifiable” or “morally good.” When man, by faith, repents of their sins and accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior unto salvation and eternal life then God forgives their sins. God then sees believers as righteous which means God sees them as morally right or good. God sees believers as justified, which is the same thing as saved unto eternal life. When believers are saved Jesus takes away our sins and gives us the righteousness of Christ. When God looks upon the believer all he sees is the righteousness of Jesus, his dearly beloved Son. To be saved is to be righteous before God. A righteous man is a man who has been saved unto eternal life.

4.Avails – In the dictionary “avails” means “to help or benefit someone.” In prayer we can pray for ourselves, someone else or both. Prayers are always positive, never negative. God is holy and good and any help from Almighty God is always for our benefit or the benefit of others. Only blessings come from God because the Spirit of God can only produce good fruit.

5.Much – The dictionary defines “much” as, “a large amount, to a great extent, a great deal, often.” With an open-ended word like much I can imagine a lot. God is generous to a fault and we know he loves us. God dotes on us like a favorite grandchild. We can’t begin to imagine the magnitude of the blessings God has in store for us if only we’ll ask for them in prayer.

6.Fervent – In the dictionary “fervent” is defined as, “intensely passionate.” When we pray it must be from the heart with great emotion. That tells me it’s not the words that are important, it’s what we feel in our heart that counts. That means canned prayers and rote incantations will not work if we want God to answer our prayers.

7.Effective – The dictionary defines “effective” as, “producing a desired or intended result.” Everyone who calls themselves a Christian has at one time or another prayed to God. I’ll bet not many of those prayers were answered. Why? They were not effective prayers. Why was that? The Bible tells us explicitly that if you’re not praying and reading God’s Word on a regular basis (i.e. daily) or studying God’s Word for knowledge, understanding and wisdom you are not in fellowship with God. You may be saved but you have no intimacy with God. When you pray to God you must believe that God will answer those prayers. If you’re not in close contact with God you may pray hoping they’ll be answered but you don’t have any confidence that they will be. Deep down you know you haven’t done anything that would warrant God answering your prayers. When you’re in fellowship with God you have no such doubts. When you know your Bible you know your prayers will be answered. Prayers must be repeated over and over until God answers them. God doesn’t respond to selfish prayers. Pray for a million bucks and see where that gets you. Prayers to God must be unselfish and according to his will. God never grants prayers that are detrimental to yourself or others. Prayers are just help from God because God is good, generous, kind, and gentle and he loves us. God loves to answer the prayers of his saints.

Mark 10:45 – (Jesus speaking) – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:28 – (Jesus speaking) – Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 – For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Based on the definitions of the words in James 5:16 it’s abundantly clear that prayer to God is the way he intended for us to access the blessings of God, both here on earth and in heaven. Prayers must be made by believers speaking unselfishly from the heart according to God’s will and then repeated over and over to God knowing they will get an answer eventually. Prayers must be to help a believer or someone else; never to harm or hurt another person. Finally, effective prayer by a man of God will produce more fruit than we ever dreamed of. The Bible talks in terms of up to a hundredfold return when discussing the blessings of a righteous man. We must become prayer warriors for God if we want to receive the greatest blessings from the Lord our God. Write down John 3:16, John 10:10 and James 5:16 on index cards so you can review these three very important Bible verses often. They will remind you of your potential to do great things as a believer in the kingdom of God and they will show how it can be done.

Colossians 4:2 – Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

John 9:31 – Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him.

Mark 11:24 – (Jesus speaking) – Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Proverbs 28:9 – One who turns away his ear from hearing the law (the Bible), even his prayer is an abomination.

Sometimes I just like to sit at my desk during the early morning hours, close my eyes, and dwell on the magnitude of God in order to strengthen my faith in the Lord and recharge my spiritual batteries. We’ll only be able to know and understand a small part of who God is. Our minds couldn’t begin to cope with the whole magnitude of God so the Lord protects us by limiting our knowledge of him. When we do take the time to stop and actually think about God (meditate) in terms of what we do know about the Lord it will humble us. It has to be that way when we compare ourselves to Almighty God. How could it be any other way if we’re totally honest with ourselves? Thinking about God often will also help us to maintain our “fear” of the Lord. Biblically speaking, fearing God means to look upon him with awe, deep respect and reverence.

James 4:10 – Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

1 Peter 5:6-7 – Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.

Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Romans 1:20 – For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

Because of the sin nature we all inherited from Adam’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden we’re all born in a fallen state and we’re all on a trajectory straight to hell. A gracious and merciful God has provided us a way out of this impending eternal death through the blood of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God. To receive our salvation we must first come before the throne of grace in prayer and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When praying to Almighty God it’s important we self-monitor ourselves closely to ensure our humility before God and to make sure our fear of God is strong. This is true when we come before the throne of grace in prayer for any reason. There’s no better way for us to remain humble before God while at the same time stoking our fear of the Lord than to dwell often on the magnificent attributes of God. As we read our Bibles daily and meditate about God we will have accomplished both of these goals. It says we will in God’s Word.

Deuteronomy 17:19 – And it (God’s law/the Bible) shall be with him (the believer), and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.

Luke 18:14 – (Jesus speaking) – For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

If you expect God to answer your prayers you cannot appear before the throne of grace in prayer without having both humility and fear. God hates arrogant men and those full of pride and any such person who offers a prayer to God; those prayers are an abomination to the Lord. They would be better off not offering any prayers to God. The sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross purchased the right for all believers to have 24/7 access to God the Father through prayer. What a wonderful privilege we have been given! Access to God is still conditional on us approaching God in the right way; which is humbly and in fear. God is the sovereign King of the universe and there’s a heavenly protocol to follow when we speak to God in prayer by first acknowledging who God is and then offering praise, honor and worship with our lips. We can do that by using one or more of God’s many attributes or names when praying to God. Nonbelievers who pray to God in times of great stress may or may not be heard by the Lord. They have no guarantee of being heard like believers do.

Proverbs 28:9 – One who turns away his ear from hearing the law (the Bible), even his prayer is an abomination.

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Matthew 7:17-18 – (Jesus speaking) – Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Hebrews 13:15 – Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

God has many attributes, the vast majority of which we’ll never know or fully understand this side of heaven. All we can know about the attributes of God is what he reveals to us in his word. I keep my personal list of the attributes of God on a 4″ X 6″ index card on my desk so I can review them often. My list only has 38 entries so far but I know God’s word contains many more attributes of God than those on my list. When you meditate on God pick out one attribute that pertains to the Lord and ask yourself how God shows that attribute in the Bible and how it pertains to your life. Let me repeat myself (repetition is good). As we come before the Lord in prayer we must always be humble because a prideful person is an abomination to God and so are his prayers. We must also “fear” God, which means we are to look upon the Lord with awe, deep respect and reverence. Nothing will keep you humble and fearful before the Lord in prayer quite like meditating on the attributes and names of Almighty God, King of the universe. My list is the following:

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD:

1. Self-existent – God exists and is not dependent on anyone or anything.
2. Self-sufficient – God has no need not provided by himself.
3. Eternal – God is free from the constraints of time. God has always existed.
4. Infinite – God has no limitations and is bounded only by his nature and will.
5. Omnipresent – God’s essence equally fills all the universe.
6. Omniscient – God knows all things past, present, future, as well as all possibilities.
7. Omnipotent – God can do anything not against his nature.
8. Immutable – God’s divine character remains constant. God does not change.
9. Sovereign – God is the King and absolute ruler of the universe.
10. Incomprehensible – No one can truly know God.
11. Inscrutable – God is mysterious and inexplicable.
12. Holy – God is absolute purity and goodness. God is spiritually and morally perfect.
13. Righteous – God has moral equity. God is just and fair to everyone in all his actions.
14. True – God is factual about all things. God cannot lie.
15. Faithful – God keeps his covenants (promises). What God says will come true.
16. Light – God is the source of all illumination in our universe and in heaven.
17. Good – God is kind, gentle, sympathetic and friendly.
18. Merciful – God wants to forgive our sins and save us from an eternity in hell.
19. Gracious – God wants to give us his unmerited favor.
20. Love – God seeks our highest good and shows an unselfish concern for us.
21. Wise – God has perfect knowledge and wisdom which he uses to our best end.

One of the spiritual truths of the Bible is a tree will only produce fruit after its own kind. This truth of God pertains to angels, men, demons and God himself. Only man has the free will to choose what our kind will be, whether good or bad (sinful/evil). The purpose of our life on this planet is to make the free will choice between God and Satan. We have a seventy year life span, if we’re lucky, to decide whether we’ll produce good fruit or bad fruit. We are what we consistently say and what we continually do. The attributes of God are a reflection of what God does and what God says. If we want to know who God is then we need to take a look at his attributes, both individually and collectively, and then we’ll have a pretty clear picture of the mind and heart of God. Scripture tells us the fruit of God’s Spirit includes goodness, faithfulness and love, which we see in the list above. Other fruits or attributes of God listed in Scripture include the following:

22. Gentleness – God deals with man with more gentleness than we deserve.

23. Kindness – God deals with man kindly because he knows our limitations and frailty.

24. Longsuffering – God has patience in the face of repeated provocations on our part.

25. Self-control – Man continually provokes God to anger yet God has not destroyed us.

26. Peace – We have peace with God and he gives us his peace; the only true peace.

27. Joy – True joy in our life is like true peace, both can only come from the Lord.

As we go through the stories in the Bible we learn about our great God’s awesome power and fearsome wrath. An angry God scares the heck out of us with good reason. Only God can send someone to hell because he is the righteous judge of our earthly conduct. Luckily for us God is good, fair and just. The Bible gives us a peek into the heart of God and we get to see God’s character on display, which should give us all comfort knowing that we have such a good and great God. As believers we’re so lucky to be chosen as children of God; blessed more than we’ll ever know. When I look at the additional attributes of God listed below it makes me love the Lord even more; if that’s possible:

28. Just – God is fair to everyone and each person gets exactly what he deserves.

29. Jealous – God requires that we believe in him and worship no other gods but him.

30. Generous – God is generous to a fault and will give more than we could ever hope for.

31. Caring – God cares deeply about each one of us and only wants what’s best for us.

32. Tender-hearted – God is a soft touch for those who love him and he wants to give to us.

33. Protective – God assigns guardian angels to protect all believers from harm.

34. Mournful – God made us all and he mourns the loss of every spirit that goes to hell.

35. Grievous – When we sin against God it causes great sorrow to our maker.

36. Hopeful – God is always hopeful that we’ll find salvation and return home to him.

37. Great – Scripture says God is great; encompassing a multitude of godly attributes.

38. Righteous – God is morally good and virtuous. God always does the right thing.

Praying to God is something we all have to learn to do in such a way that is both respectful to God yet personal to each of us. God doesn’t want canned prayers. God wants you to speak to him from your heart; whatever is on your mind. Nothing is too trivial for God to hear about if it’s important to you. I learned a long time ago you can’t go wrong by praying Scripture back to God and aligning our wishes with God’s promises. The Bible says we can have what we ask for so give some thought to what comes out of your mouth. When I look at the attributes of God they tend to fall into one of two categories. Eighteen attributes of God fall into a category I call “great” which tends to show God’s magnitude and power and which elicits deep respect and awe on our part. God has the attribute of omnipotence, for example, which is one of the attributes that make God great. The Bible says God is great, which is a generic attribute on my list. When I pray and I say God is great I’m agreeing with God’s word but I’m also referring to the other seventeen great attributes of God on my list.

Deuteronomy 32:3-4 – For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.

Psalm 106:1 – Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

John 9:31 – Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him.

James 5:16 – The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

The remaining twenty attributes of God on my list I call “good” which tends to show us the heart and character side of God. Holiness is an example of a “good” attribute of God. Many times in the Bible God is called good, which is a generic attribute. All of the attributes on my “good” list engender deep respect just like the great attributes I’ve already mentioned but they also cause us to love and admire God. We refer to this as reverence. The Bible spends much more time focusing on God’s good attributes than on his great attributes because they are more important to us. See if you can divide up the 38 attributes of God I have listed above into your own groups of good and great attributes. Pick out one of the attributes of God that is important to you and meditate on it. You’ll be amazed how much it strengthens your faith in God. When I pray to God I often tell him that, “God is good, God is great.” I may praise God for a more specific attribute from time to time but good and great are also attributes of God on my list and by mentioning these two specific attributes of God I’m also including, by reference, all the other attributes of God. The Bible often uses the word prayer and supplication interchangeably. The definition of supplication is, “to humbly ask for something.” That tells us all prayers to God should be made humbly.

Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

1 Timothy 2:8 – I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

James 4:2 – Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

Colossians 4:2 – Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

Psalm 6:9 – The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

We praise God by acknowledging his attributes in prayer. We worship our God when we mention the goodness and greatness of God with our lips in prayer. We honor and glorify God when we call him by his name in prayer. The Lord is his name. Jehovah is his name. God has many names and attributes and we can personalize our prayers by choosing one or more of them when we address God. Prayers usually have a beginning, middle and end. At the beginning of your prayer offer praise and worship to God. The middle part of your prayer is where you say what you came before God to ask for or say. The end of your prayer is where you thank God for not only hearing your prayer, but also for answering your prayer, even if it hasn’t happened yet. You close your prayer with, “in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Ephesians 4:30 – And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

The instant we were saved God forgave all our past sins and our eternal destiny was irrevocably changed from hell to heaven. That doesn’t mean we can no longer sin or we won’t continue to sin, because we still have to live on this sin-filled earth which is under the sway of the wicked one. We don’t have a blank check from God so we can continue to sin without consequence. After our salvation we will all still sin before God and we all still need to have our sins forgiven, preferably on a daily basis. This is why we need to pray to God daily for forgiveness of our sins. The sins of believers won’t keep us out of heaven but unforgiven sin grieves the Holy Spirit of God and will affect our rewards in heaven. Those believers who continue to sin, and sin grievously, run the risk of God taking them home early. God promises to forgive our sins if we ask him so why not give our sins to God in prayer? Everyone’s prayers are different, personal and just as effective as anyone else’s prayers, if they are heartfelt. The most important thing about prayer is to just pray what you feel, any way you can, and as often as you can. God judges the heart and understands.

1 Peter 1:3-5 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Every single person in heaven wishes they had prayed more while they were still on earth. We all need to greatly increase our prayer time. Follow the general format of the Lord’s prayer provided by Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13. The Holy Spirit of God that dwells within all believers is tasked with helping us with our prayers to God the Father. Prayers to God are not designed to be one and done. You don’t pray for something one time and quit. Keep praying until you get what you ask for. God is not a slot machine that pays out every time you want something and just when you want it. Prayer doesn’t work that way. God’s timetable for answering prayers is different from ours so be patient. God will not give you something you’re not ready to receive yet or if your request is not in your best interest, just because you asked for it. God will protect you from yourself. God knows perfectly well what you need so trust in God’s judgment and praise him continually for his blessings in your life.

Mark 11:24 – (Jesus speaking) – Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 – He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Holiness is the most prominent attribute of God and the holiness of God is mentioned hundreds of time in the Bible. God is Spirit and he is holy, hence God is also known as the “Holy Spirit.” God commands us to be holy because he is holy. The dictionary defines holy as, “morally and spiritually excellent.” That definition may work for us but when using holy in reference to God we mean, “morally and spiritually perfect.” I usually start off my prayers to the Lord by addressing him as, “Holy God” , because holiness is God’s number one attribute and I want to acknowledge it. I also like to talk to God using a personal title. I often refer to God as, “Lord of heaven and earth.” Why? Because I like it and it’s factual. Jesus also referred to God the Father by that title and if it’s good enough for Jesus it’s good enough for me. Jesus is the firstborn Son of God and as believers we’re also equally the children of God and we may freely use the above title when we talk to him. We are also free to talk to God using any title, name or attribute of God we choose as long as it’s respectful and biblical. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide when talking with God in prayer. He will if you ask him. One of the duties of the Holy Spirit is to help us with our prayers to God so use him whenever you can.

1 John 3:1 – Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

Romans 8:14 – For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Mark 16:15 – (Jesus speaking) – Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Isaiah 45:22 – Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

My favorite attribute of God is “longsuffering.” Patience is one thing but longsuffering is harder. Longsuffering is patience on steroids. Longsuffering is being patient in the face of repeated and continual provocation over a long period of time. Longsuffering is like me poking God in the eye with a sharp stick over and over, because of my sins, for over fifty years yet God remains calm, never gets angry with me or abandons me. That is one truly amazing God! God planned for my life and knew everything about me before he laid the foundation of the world. God waited on me patiently for over 6000 years so he could give me my eternal spirit at conception in my mother’s womb. God waited patiently for me to be born, grow up to the age of decision, and then find him and accept the gift of salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, at the age of twelve. I was then a backslider for over forty years yet God did not abandon me. God waited patiently for me to return to him in fellowship. God is currently waiting for me to complete the works he has planned for me to do from the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:4 – Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Matthew 25:34 – (Jesus speaking) – Then the King will say to those on His right hand, come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Christian blogging is what I call “passive witnessing” for Christ and I’m sure this work was also part of God’s plan for me. Finally, God is waiting patiently for my death so that he can take me home to live with him forever in heaven. I fondly refer to the Lord my God as the, “One who waits,” for me. God has been waiting a very long time for me to join him so I’m not afraid of dying. I am fearful that I haven’t witnessed for Christ well enough or long enough. That’s why the goal for the rest of my life is to save, “one more for Jesus.” I also feel my good works for the kingdom of God are inadequate based on the blessings I have received from God. I think most Christians feel this way because a seventy year life span, if we’re lucky, simply isn’t long enough to accomplish what we need to do for God. After our salvation, God leaves us on this earth to witness for Christ and to do good works. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, figured out rightly in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes that the only thing of importance in our lives is a right relationship with God. Everything else is meaningless. We are simply to do the best we can with who we are and what we have and then throw ourselves upon the mercy of a good, just and loving God. God is always faithful and we know he dotes on us. God will not fail those who love him.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 – Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

The riches stored up for me in heaven will be paltry compared to what I could have had and should have had. I think everyone who goes to heaven feels the same way. I know Jesus loves me and he’s waiting for me on the other side of the spiritual veil. I have been waiting to see Jesus for a long time too. It’ll be a joyous reunion in heaven when I finally get to see Jesus face to face. If you don’t know Jesus Christ yet then seek out the truth of God while you still can. My earliest blogs outlined all the proofs of God you will ever need to make an informed decision about the truth of God. The Holy Spirit will also convict you of your sins if you read God’s Word every day, especially if you read the gospels of Christ contained in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Lord does not wait for me only. The Lord also waits for you, but he won’t wait forever for you to decide whether you will serve God or Satan. Time is short. Please don’t delay in making the right decision. The evidence for God is overwhelming if you take the time to look at it. Your eternal soul hangs in the balance. What say you?

Isaiah 30:18 – Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are those who wait for Him.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Psalm 116:15 – Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

I’ve just finished reading a book that my cousin in Arizona recently recommended titled, “Heaven – An Unexpected Journey”, by James D. Woodford along with his ghost writer, Dr. Thom Gardner. I’ve been an avid reader all my life and even more so now that I’m retired. However, my passion for reading now is almost exclusively limited to reading the Bible and any and all books about God and the Christian faith. There has been a proliferation of books lately written by people who say they have been to heaven and back. I don’t believe everything I read but I absolutely do believe some of these stories to be true from people who say they have been to heaven. I believe Mr. Woodford.

By the same token, I also think some of these books are written by someone out to make a quick buck. You must be discerning. You must read all books of this genre with your BS detector up. If you’re a spiritually mature Christian you should be able to detect the fakes easier than most nonbelievers who may be searching for the truth of God. If you know your Bible you’ll know when people are not aligned with God’s Word.

Genesis 5:24 – And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Malachi 3:6 – For I am the Lord, I do not change.

Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you.

The first question you have to ask yourself is would God actually bring someone to heaven before their appointed time to die? Has God done this before? The answer is yes on both counts if we believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. We know God translated the prophets Enoch and Elijah directly to heaven without either of them having to die. We know the Apostle Paul made a visit to heaven; probably the time he was stoned to death in Lsytra, which is in modern-day Turkey. The Apostle John was brought to heaven to see his revelation of Christ, which became the last book of the New Testament.

In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, the Apostle Paul is referring to himself in the third person as the man who was caught up to heaven. If this account is in the Bible it happened because Paul’s words flowed from the Holy Spirit and God does not lie. All the accounts of the people I’ve just mentioned who have had documented visits to heaven are just the ones we know about. There may be other past occurrences of people having gone to heaven. We just don’t know. The fact God mentions Paul being caught up to heaven twice in the same verse of Scripture below means it’s important for us to know.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 – I know a man who fourteen years ago-whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows-such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man-whether in the body or out of the body I do not know-how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

James 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

You might say that was then and this is now; that God does not do that kind of stuff today. You would be wrong because the Bible makes it clear that God does not change at all at any time. God still performs miracles and wondrous works today just like he did in the Old Testament times. That means if God took people to heaven back then he is probably doing the same thing today. We’ll never again see God part the sea or appear as a burning column of fire or as an ominous glory cloud because we now have Jesus Christ and that’s all we need going forward.

God speaks to us now through his word and through his Son Jesus Christ. All believers since Christ, and because of Christ, now have 24/7 access to the throne room of God through prayer because they are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All believers since Pentecost of 33 AD are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God as their constant friend and helper. Jesus is on his throne as our Mediator with God. God has us covered like a blanket without all the theatrics of the past. Christians are so blessed to be living in these end times.

Psalm 34:15 – The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.

Psalm 102:17 – He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer.

Psalm 6:9 – The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

My second question is why would God take the trouble to bring someone to heaven and show them the glory of God before their appointed time? The answer is God wants them to testify to the glory of heaven and the majesty of God. God never acts on a whim or does anything haphazardly. God always has a good reason foe everything he does. We just need to figure out what that reason is if we can. We know that God has revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ and through his word. God is multiple in everything he does and God never stops trying to reach mankind with the truth of God through various ingenious methods.

Christian writers are equipped by the Holy Spirit to give their testimony of God and reveal spiritual truths through books, articles, interviews and television programs, etc. God is reaching the whole world with the gospel message of Christ just as he said he would. Christian bloggers are the latest venue that God is using to reach out to believers and nonbelievers alike about the truth of God’s Word. For years I felt the Holy Spirit pushing me to write about God; never dreaming I would ultimately wind up as a Christian blogger. Yet here I am serving God the best way I know how. Christian blogging is nothing more than passive witnessing for Christ.

Hebrews 1:1-2 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the worlds.

2 Corinthians 13:1 – By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.

Romans 10:13 – For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Getting back to the book, “Heaven, an Unexpected Journey”, I can feel the passion in Mr. Woodford’s writing so I know he’s writing from his heart. I detect no deceit in Jim’s story. Everything Mr. Woodford describes seeing in heaven confirms what Scripture says. James was saved from hell by uttering six simple words. “God forgive me…God save me!” That is the grace of God at work. Nothing that happened to Mr. Woodford while he was in heaven contradicts God’s Word in any way. The Bible says the truth of any matter is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. In this instance we have the testimony of Lorraine, Mr. Woodford’s devout Christian wife, that what Jim says is the truth.

We also have the testimony of Jim’s co-writer, Dr. Thom Gardner, who is a pastor and an internationally known author and teacher of other pastors on how to walk with God. Mr. Gardner is a spiritually mature man of God and Mr. Woodford wouldn’t be able to fool him if he was lying about going to heaven. One of the reasons I believe Jim’s story is because Dr. Gardner does. I was so impressed with Dr. Gardner that I went on Ebay and purchased six of his books for my reference library. I can tell Dr. Thom Gardner walks humbly with God.

Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1 Timothy 2:5 – For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Jesus Christ.

The most important reason I believe everything in James Woodford’s book is the changes made in his life. James was not a Christian; never read his Bible and never went to church unless he was forced to go on special occasions. James Woodford was all about himself; how much money he could make and what he could buy with that money. James came back to earth a changed man. Seeing Jesus face to face will do that to you. James became a devout Christian overnight who now shares his story with audiences throughout North and South America.

James also witnesses about the glories of heaven to people in hospices who are near the end of their lives. Only something very real and dramatic could effect such a change in a person. I think back to the conversion of Paul on the Damascus road when Jesus appeared to Paul and temporarily blinded him for three days. Paul went from the number one enemy of Christians to a devout preacher of God’s Word almost overnight. Only a face to face encounter with Jesus Christ could make such a drastic change in Paul in so short a time. James and Paul both met Jesus face to face with similar results so both stories are true.

Proverbs 23:12 – Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.

1 Timothy 4:13 – Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The fact that James Woodford was clinically dead and had no brain activity for eleven hours and then came back to life without any brain damage is a miracle. The fact that Jim also had a rare and always fatal disease yet he came back from heaven without this disease is a second miracle. What are the odds of two miracles happening to the same person at the same time? With God there are no odds because all things are possible. The most important thing James learned in heaven, and his advice to all of us, is to study God’s Word for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. When Jim met Jesus he was also told by Jesus to, “Go back and tell your brothers and sisters of the wonders we have shown you.” Jesus was talking about the body of Christ. Jesus was also talking about witnessing for Christ to all the world.

Romans 4:4 – Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

Titus 3:8 – This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who believe in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

James Woodford had to die and go to heaven to discover Jesus Christ and to find out what his purpose in life was. For the vast majority of believers the journey of faith is just the opposite. Heaven comes to us through the Bible and Jesus Christ is revealed in its pages. As believers we spiritually die with Christ; we don’t have to physically die before we find God. In both instances, we receive salvation unto eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In both cases, we see the love, mercy and grace of God manifested in our lives. I discovered my purpose on this earth to be the same as Jim’s, which is just another proof his story is true. That’s why the twin themes of my blog site are, “studying God’s Word” and “witnessing for Christ.” God gives all believers the same marching orders. What are you waiting for?