What does your dream home look like? Jesus said in John 14:2, “In My Father’s house are many mansions…” The Greek word here for “mansions” is the word “monay” which is a dwelling place. These places which the Lord is speaking is not pictured as a separate building, as if heaven were a giant housing tract. Rather the picture is that of a father building additional rooms onto his house for his sons and their families. In modern terms the dwelling places might be pictured as rooms or apartments in the Father’s spacious house. The emphasis is on intimacy. Revelation 21:3 tells us this is a place where “the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people and God Himself will be among them.” The place the Lord is preparing for those who follow Him is a place of dazzling beauty according to Revelation 21:9-17, Just think, a part of the reason Jesus died, buried, and rose again, was to prepare this place for us! This place is not for us to see (like a vacation – it is for us to enjoy and use). The Father’s house is a … READ MORE

Corporate prayer is more than a time when we get together to refresh our spirit and soul. It is more than a time to fellowship with other believers. Times of corporate prayer in church is designed to be the heart beat of the church. Nothing truly happens in the power of the Lord that is not first bathed in prayer. Prayer is so much more than just talking to God – it is the breath of the believer and the hope of the church. Without prayer, churches will choke out, and die. We must not be afraid or ashamed to pray, for it unleashes the power of God in our lives and in our community. We need to make an effort to come together and pray for the needs of the body, and for wisdom to serve the Lord that we love. Not satisfied with your prayer life? Expose yourself to others who pray, and learn how to they pray As you read your Bible look at the prayers outlined in Scripture and model your prayers after them. Remember to make prayers person, and don’t just repeat prayers as if the power is in the words, the power of prayer … READ MORE

What happens when you die as a follower of Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:1 reminds us that “if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us that, “absent from the body [is to] be present with the Lord.” Scripture refers to heaven more than five hundred times, the Book of revelation alone mentions heaven about fifty times. The Bible is very clear that heaven is an actual place, not a state of spiritual consciousness. We are reminded that it is a place, because some have gone there in glorified bodies, such as Enoch in Genesis 5:24, Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11, and the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 1:9. As we have already been reminded in 2 Corinthians 5:8 while heaven is far beyond the created world in another dimension, when believers die, they will be there immediately (cf. also Luke 23:43). We also are reminded in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 that a day will come when the Savior, Jesus Christ, will come back for His Bride, and all those who are a part of that Bride … READ MORE