Prayer – Lord, You’ve given us a glimpse throughout the Bible of heaven…starting with Jacob and his vision of the gateway to heaven. Please give us insight so that we might perceive the hope You have given us for a heavenly home.
Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At
sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the
night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As
he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven.
And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. At the top of the
stairway stood the LORD, and he said, "I am the LORD, the God of your
grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are
lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. ... Then
Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place,
and I wasn't even aware of it!" But he was also afraid and said,
"What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God,
the very gateway to heaven!" The next morning Jacob got up very early. He
took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a
memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel
(which means "house of God"), although it was previously called Luz. Genesis
28:10-13, 16-19
Meditate. Consider where Heaven starts.
Archway at Arbor Crest - Spokane
Have you ever gone through an archway or entry that was a
“gateway” to some place? I think of a cool vine covered archway that was at a
restaurant that friends took us to in Spokane. It was a gateway from the food
service area to an outdoor seating space that overlooked vineyards and the
valley. Beautiful—but not the gateway you’d expect to give us access to heaven…or
even a “house of God.”
Jacob realized what an awesome place it was—and admitted that as
he woke up he had been in the presence of the Lord and didn’t even know it. Are
we ever in God’s presence and just not aware of it? I think it is sometimes
easier to see how God was working in our lives looking back than in actually
stopping to seek or feel His presence moment by moment. I know I have felt like
Jacob…surely the Lord is in this place…and I wasn’t in church at that
time. It isn’t necessarily “the place” but being in a worshipful attitude of
submission to God and focused on the relationship I have with Him. God—in the
form of the Holy Spirit—is with us always…just as Jesus promised.
Jesus came
and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on
earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new
disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew
28:18-20
Take another look at heaven. Heaven is for those who are saved.
Saved from what? From sin. Jesus Christ willingly gave up His own life to be a sacrifice
for the sins of mankind. Those who experience His forgiveness—by giving their
sins to Him—will find that they have a home waiting for them in heaven.
 |
| Peace Rose A heavenly fragrance. |
Knowing the Lord is what life is all about.
Knowing Him is Life.
© 2023 Text, photos, and
illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New
Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright ©
1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter
Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
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