What Will You do in Heaven?

By: James J. Jackson

“…I know you’re looking down on us from Heaven, like so many we have lost along the way…”  This line from a Mariah Carey song came to mind recently, when a friend asked me in an email about my perspective on Heaven.

My friend’s father died recently, and his young son asked him if Grandpa is now an angel, and will he guard over him for the rest of his life.  The friend thought I might be able to give him some insights as to how to answer such a question.  The song came to mind because the lyrics seem to follow the same thread; that when we die, we become angels, or, at least, we are assigned to spend our heavenly time watching over our loved ones on earth.

This inquiry sparked an intense Bible study.  I did not want to mislead my friend or his young son, so I searched for God’s perspective on Heaven.  I thought wistfully about my two sets of parents who have long since gone on to Heaven.  I chuckled as I thought about them watching me stumble and sin my way through life.  I cannot see how that would be a heavenly experience for them!

Likewise, I cannot imagine being in Heaven with the heavy weight of sympathy and angst for those left behind, still at the mercy of their sinful human nature.  Imagine the helplessness of knowing when a loved one is headed for disaster and not being able to even warn them.  God promises that there will be no pain, emotional or otherwise, in Heaven. We will not hunger or thirst or have want or need of anything, ever again.  So, why would He place us in such a desperate position?

Jesus tells us to come to Him, we who are heavy laden, and He will give rest.  I believe Heaven is a place of complete rest from our work and earthly labors.  The Bible tells us there will be no day or night, no worry or fear.  The light of Christ will be all the light we need.  We will only rest and praise the Triune God forever.

The Bible tells us that the angels to act as God’s agents; as guardians, as mediators, messengers, etc.  Hebrews 1:14 asks, “Are not all angels ministering spirits, sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”  The angels are created for such service, and armed with the power to achieve whatever goal God assigns them.  They sometimes warn us, re-direct us away from danger, bring us messages from God, and serve us in uncountable ways on a daily basis.

I advised my friend that I would tell the child that the Bible doesn’t appear to say that we become angels when we die, but it does say that we, who believe in Jesus Christ and have received His free gift of eternal life, go to be with Him in Heaven when we die, with no pain, never to die again.  The Bible tells us that God has created more angels than we could count to guide and help us here on earth.

I told my friend that, whether or not my parents can see me from Heaven, I pledged to live my life in a way that would not dishonor their memory, and that I would use the life lessons they taught me to strive to be the best I can be at all times.  It is more important that we reflect the good we received from those who have gone before us than to be concerned with whether or not they are watching us now.  That’s the angels’ job!

“Real Answers™” furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com

Michael’s Death reminds us of our mortality

By: James J. Jackson

As with so many people around the world, I felt the loss of Michael Jackson deeply. For many years my family and I have enjoyed his music and his videos. He was beloved by many, and he helped many people. He is listed in the Guinness Book of Records and the most charitable entertainer in history. Michael’s untimely death raised the question on the Internet and other media as to whether he was a Christian.

This gifted entertainer achieved more worldly success than most of us could even imagine, but he spent much of his time and resources changing himself, physically, emotionally, and in nearly every way possible. His miserable and unfulfilled life certainly illustrates the fact that money cannot buy happiness.

This sad plight befalls many successful celebrities who seem to ‘have it made’, but continue to chase true happiness and satisfaction that cannot be gained from fame and fortune. It seems that their money becomes a demon that steals happiness and imprisons them in their own private dungeon, rendering their lives, which seem so full, empty and sad.

I have seen no evidence to prove or disprove whether Michael Jackson knew and believed (trusted) Jesus Christ as his Savior. I’ve read that he declared himself to be a Jehovah’s Witness, which does not teach that Jesus Christ is the son of God, but, that He was a great prophet. In announcing Michael’s death, his brothers, Jermaine ended his statement with, “Michael, may Allah be with you forever…”, raising further doubt as to Michael’s Christianity. Such uncertainty seems quite common among celebrities.

John Lennon once remarked (to a London newspaper in 1966) that “…Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink … We’re more popular than Jesus now”. George Harrison wrote the song, “My Sweet Lord”, which, at first seems to be praising the true Lord, Jesus Christ, but actually praises ‘Lord Krishna’, a Hindu god.

Comedian Bill Mahr constantly castigates all things Christians, and even made a movie ridiculing religion, faith and worship. He believes that we exist by accident, live our lives as we please, die, and return to nothing. God’s word says that knowledge of Him exists in every heart, and evidence is all around us, so there is no excuse for rejecting Him. I pray that Mahr will receive the faith to believe in this life. It will be too late in the next.

It seems that many people who have achieved worldly success and fame, do not see a need to trust in a higher power, or they believe they can pick and choose which higher power they will believe in at a given time. Still others try to give credence to all gods, to cover their bases. The Bible, however, teaches that there is only one name by which we may be saved.

In Matt 29, Christ responds to a rich man who claims to have kept all of the Commandments, and wanted to know how to be saved, “…Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Christ knows us better than we know ourselves, and, when money, fame, or worldly goods become our God, we cannot humble ourselves and worship the one true God, and serve only Him. It is our not wealth that makes it impossible to enter Heaven, but our attitude toward our wealth.

I pray that Michael Jackson is in Heaven, but, only the Lord knows whether Michael trusted in Him. I would never trade the salvation Jesus Christ paid for with His life for earthly riches.

 

What Kind of Father are You?

The survey asked, “What kind of father are you? The choices were, 1. Authoritative, 2. Controlling, 3. Nurturing, 4. Easy going, and 5. A push-over. II pondered the question as it pertains to me, and came up with a choice that was not included in the survey: All of the above.

Fatherhood done right is such an awesome responsibility-not to be taken lightly. A father holds the key to the emotional development of another person in his hands. In order to fulfill the task of rearing well-rounded, contributing members of society, a father must juggle many attributes, keeping them all in the proper balance, and knowing when to use one or the other.

A father must be authoritarian when a decision has to be made. Children do not have the experience or intellect to make most major decisions. An effective father will work with the mother and make a decision and present it to their children in a unanimous fashion. The democratic approach doesn’t work in family situations, because you cannot allow equal input to young people who do not have the intellect or experience to make such decisions.

A father must be controlling at times. When a child decides to participate in an activity that may be dangerous or injurious (physically or emotionally), parents have to take control and make a definitive ruling to the child. Sometimes, the most loving word is, “No”. Although a father may feel more popular when he gives in, it is not possible to be an effective father and always be popular. A good father knows when to apply tough love, and when to give in.

A father should be nurturing in all things. He must make time for his children, even when he doesn’t feel like it. I remember taking my four daughters, one at a time for special time with Dad. They were allowed to decide where we would go, even if the activity was not my favorite pass time. They tell their children about the wonderful times they experienced fishing, going to the zoo or museum, Daddy-Daughter dances, taking lunches to the park for picnics. It is wonderful to know how much they enjoyed those times together.

A father must be ready and able to take a stand when he witnesses self-defeating behaviors forming the a child’s life, or when he sees his child making the wrong choices in friends. When my girls were young, I tried to use every situation as a life lesson, showing them the application to life, often using Bible stories to bring the lesson home. but, most of all, I listened to them,

When God stated, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”…I tried to take Him seriously, as my parents did with me. I knew, as they did, that a child needs a firm foundation built on faith, trust and love. I wanted to assure that, when my children made mistakes, as we all do, and when they feel a sense of despair, they would know where to look for answers–Up!

A person who has not been given a foundation in trust and belief in God is often lost when he or she is faced with adversity, whereas a child who has been taught to trust in a loving God knows they can always turn to Him for answers and comfort.

I believe a father’s greatest responsibility is to give his children faith and a belief in God.  I am blessed to know my daughters know and love both their earthly father and their heavenly Father!

 

Is someone rying to get your attention?

By: James J. Jackson

Have you ever experienced or heard of an ‘ear worm’?  According to web search pages, everyone experiences ear worms from time to time.  Earworms are songs or tunes that keep running around in one’s head.  It may be a song you like, but, more often than not, it will be a tune that you despise, yet find yourself singing or humming over and over again.  The harder one tries to stop humming or singing it, the more the tune plays in the mind. 

Ear worms are another mystery of the human mind.  But, could ear worms sometimes pop up to send you a very important and useful message or remind you that your countenance leaves much to be desired?  One frequent ear worm that appears to me (usually when I need to hear it, as opposed to when I might purposely summon it up). is a little song that was intended as a way to instill a life lesson in our daughters.

Years ago, our daughters’ school performed a play called “Music Machine”, which used cute songs to teach the ’fruits of the Spirit’ outlined in the Bible.  As we listened to the accompanying tape over and over again, one song became a tool we applied whenever our kids demonstrated impatience with each other or a situation:

 Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry
 When you get impatient, you only start to worry.
 Remember, remember, that God is patient, too,
 And think of all the times when others have to wait for you!

At times, simply singing or humming this little ditty would raise the ire of a child who was enjoying wallowing in impatience.  We often had fun with breaking out in the song when least expected.  One problem with using such tactics to instill life lessons is that you might just instill the lesson within yourself, as well.

Now, years later, when I find myself being impatient or intolerant with a situation or person, that little song will often appear in my head out of nowhere, and continue in a loop until I deal with the problem in the correct manner.  This often entails apologizing and asking forgiveness for my attitude.  It proves to be very convicting, and refuses to leave until the issue is dealt with.

Perhaps this is an illustration of the blessings of memorizing Scripture.  Once memorized, God’s Word resides in a place just outside one’s consciousness, from which it may quietly, but incessantly, play itself over and over in one’s head until you take the corrective action you know you should take.  Sometimes, our human nature just wants to enjoy being in the moment with our impatience, loathing, anger, etc., for a while, but the Lord would have us address the sin issue and move on.  Perhaps that is why an ear worm may appear and replay itself in a loop, crowding out the thoughts we would rather dwell on at the time.

I have learned to stop, listen and try to discern whether a particular ear worm is trying to turn my focus to a blind spot in my character, or whether it has arrived just to taunt me and remind me that a void in my idle mind is waiting to be filled with prayer, praise or meditation on God’s word.

Whatever may be the cause of this mystery of the mind, I have learned to be thankful when this particular ear worm shows up to get my attention.

Proverbs tells us, “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.”  Thank God for ear worms!

 

In All Things… An Inspirational, entertaining Non-fiction book by James J. Jackson

Hello world!

Hello, I am new to blogging, and I am attempting to market my newly released book,  In All Things, via my blog. This is a very entertaining book, and is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and through my publisher, Tate  Publishing   ://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60462-254-6.  A signed copy may be ordered direct by emailing me at jjaxcoj@aol.com