{"id":5263,"date":"2022-02-19T09:07:41","date_gmt":"2022-02-19T13:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/?p=5263"},"modified":"2022-02-19T09:10:43","modified_gmt":"2022-02-19T13:10:43","slug":"life-on-earth-is-just-the-appetizer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/life-on-earth-is-just-the-appetizer\/","title":{"rendered":"LIFE ON EARTH IS JUST THE APPETIZER"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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As I am growing older each day, one thing is for sure; I will leave this earth behind and go\u00a0<\/span>home<\/span><\/em>\u00a0to live with my Father, Lord Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit forever! Just the thought of going home excites me! My Father is constantly revealing Himself to me in some wondrous ways, so I know Heaven is going to be AWESOME! One of my sweet sisters-in-Christ, who is facing the end of her mortality, asked me, \u201cTresca, what do you think heaven is going to be like?\u201d Even though I don\u2019t know for sure, I did speculate and told her, \u201c<\/span>It is going to be beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/em>In the book of Revelation 21, verses 1 through 4, our brother John painted a picture of Heaven, a city that appeared like a bride adorned for her husband. Even though what he saw was from his spiritual experiences, he called it \u201cThe New Jerusalem\u201d compared to the\u00a0<\/span>old<\/span><\/em>\u00a0city that had vanished.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (vanished), and there is no longer any sea.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband;\u00a0<\/strong>and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, \u201cSee! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [as their God,]<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the former order of things has passed away.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Like many of us, I grew up believing we would live in a mansion with streets paved with gold. But I have come to understand those are just physical descriptions for our earthly minds to understand. Jesus said, \u201c<\/span>In my Father\u2019s house are many mansions.\u201d<\/span><\/em>\u00a0In Greek, the word means<\/span>\u00a0\u201cdwelling places or places to abide.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/em>We are His dwelling place where Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit live forever.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0And we are seated with Him in \u201c<\/span>Heavenly Places\u201d<\/span><\/em> right now on earth. I did not answer my sister\u2019s question, but I know these three things for sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>THREE THINGS I KNOW FOR SURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>GOD IS LIGHT – There is No Darkness in Heaven at All<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>I John 5-6<\/strong>\u00a0– This is the message [of God’s promised Revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you that God is Light<\/strong> [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness]. In Him, there is\u00a0no darkness at all<\/strong>\u00a0[no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].\u00a06<\/sup><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth.<\/p>\n

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Our God is the Fullness of Light, and there is no darkness hidden in Him whatsoever. When we get home, there will not be any sin, death, sickness, pain, fear, sadness, hate, bitterness, lying, deceit, or any form of these. There will be wonderful adventures of His joy, pleasure, and celebration eternally!<\/p>\n

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GOD IS PEACE – No Chaos or Divisions in Heaven<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Ephesians 2:14-16<\/strong>\u00a0– For He Himself is our Peace and<\/em> our Bond of Unity<\/strong>. He who made both\u00a0groups<\/em>\u2014 [Jews and Gentiles]\u2014into<\/em> one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall [of spiritual antagonism between us],\u00a0by abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the hostility\u00a0caused by<\/em>\u00a0the Law with its commandments\u00a0contained<\/em> in ordinances [which He satisfied]; so that in Himself He might make the two into ONE NEW MAN<\/strong>, thereby establishing peace. And [that He] might reconcile them both [Jew and Gentile, united] in ONE BODY to God through the cross, thereby putting to death the hostility.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A few years ago, a lady admonished me because I was not part of the \u201cTrue Church\u201d she attends. I told her she would be highly disappointed when she got to Heaven because there are no Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Mormons, or other religions, only\u00a0<\/span>Children of God<\/span><\/strong>. Division of race, culture, denominations, class focus on our differences on the earth, which does not exist in Heaven. We will be\u00a0<\/span>ONE in Christ<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0as we are\u00a0<\/span>ONE in Him right now<\/span><\/strong>. Jesus is our Prince of Peace, and He rules and reigns in His Kingdom now and forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

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GOD IS LOVE – We Will Be Loved Forever<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>I John 4:8-9<\/strong> – The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love.\u00a0[He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.] <\/strong>By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the one who is truly unique, the only one of His kind] into the world so that we might live through Him.<\/p>\n

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Our Father IS love, not that He has a love for us. The very essence of His whole being is love. We will never experience rejection or feel discarded ever again. Everything He does in our life is out of His heart and the depths of His love. In Heaven, we will experience His tremendous love forever and forever. Whatever we do or experience in Heaven will be enveloped in His peace while basking in His love. I can\u2019t wait!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Whatever joys, pleasures, and happiness we experience now on earth in our mortal bodies, our experiences will be infinitely greater in Heaven when we put on our immortal bodies. Our Father has prepared Heaven as our HOME and PLAYGROUND for His children,\u00a0<\/span>born-again<\/span><\/em>\u00a0from His holy womb. We are those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here is a sweet story I read long ago, I found it on littlethings.com; enjoy!<\/p>\n

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There was a woman diagnosed with a deadly illness and had been given three months to live. So, as she was getting her things \u201cin order,\u201d she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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She told him which songs she wanted to be sung at the service, what scriptures she would like to read, and what outfit she wanted to wear. The woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order, and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something significant to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s one more thing,\u201d she said excitedly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d the pastor asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is very important,\u201d the woman continued. \u201cI want to be buried\u00a0<\/span>with a fork<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0in my right hand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The pastor stood looking at the woman, unsure of what to say. \u201cThat surprises you, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d the woman asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWell, to be honest, I\u2019m puzzled by your request,\u201d said the pastor.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The woman explained, \u201cIn all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say,\u00a0<\/span>\u2018You can keep your fork.\u2019<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming… like velvety chocolate cake,\u00a0<\/span>sweet potato pie<\/span><\/em>, or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and with substance!<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cSo, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand, and I want them to wonder,\u00a0<\/span>\u2018What\u2019s with the fork?\u2019<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Then I want you to tell them:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cKeep your fork… THE BEST IS YET TO COME.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Enjoy Christ, Enjoy Life!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I am growing older each day, one thing is for sure; I will leave this earth behind and go\u00a0home\u00a0to live with my Father, Lord Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit forever! Just the thought of going home excites me! My Father is constantly revealing Himself to me in some wondrous ways, so I know Heaven is going to be AWESOME! One of my sweet sisters-in-Christ, who is facing the end of her mortality, asked me, \u201cTresca, what do you think…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false,"nisarg-full-width":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Tresca Grannum","author_link":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/author\/tresca\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"As I am growing older each day, one thing is for sure; I will leave this earth behind and go\u00a0home\u00a0to live with my Father, Lord Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit forever! Just the thought of going home excites me! My Father is constantly revealing Himself to me in some wondrous ways, so I know Heaven…","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5263"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5277,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5263\/revisions\/5277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}