#70 – Questions in Heaven

Welcome to season seven of Presently Engaged with Mandy Pallock. Here you will find short, friendly, Jesus-focused encouragement to live intentionally right where you are. In this episode, we will have a devotional thought source from life, and then we’ll end the podcast with a scripture reading. I’ll be reading from the English Standard Version of a passage, and this will give us the opportunity to center our minds on Jesus and our hearts on his word, because lives will change as we engage with God’s word.

Would you be willing to share this podcast with a friend or with someone that you’re mentoring? Listen in and then join me at presentlyengaged.com. I’m so grateful for your time and glad that you are here, because you, friend, are making a difference. We talk a lot about asking specific questions of specific people in heaven.

David, what was it like to face Goliath? Eve, what was it like to live in the Garden of Eden? Noah, how bad did it smell on the ark? Martha, what was it like to see Lazarus alive again?

It’s the perfect spiritual icebreaker question, isn’t it? What question would you most want to ask a specific person in heaven, and why? Here’s what I wonder. We all have these burning questions and backstories that we would like to fill in, but I wonder if, one day in heaven, you might bump into David or Eve or Noah or Martha, and they will be the one deeply wanting to ask you the questions.

What was it like to live faithfully for Jesus in the 21st century? What was it like to live long after the Messiah’s death and resurrection? What was it like to experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? What was it like to have the entirety of God’s Word available to read any time you wanted to?

Parenting in your time sounds extra complicated. How did you stay faithful and Jesus focused in the midst of it? Hebrews 12, 1-2 declares, Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. I’m hoping that I’m around if or when David or Martha or Eve asks you those questions because I want to ask you the same ones.

What is it like? This season we’re reading what I call the Apostle Paul’s Power Prayers as you know. So in this last episode of season seven, join me in reading 2 Corinthians 2, 14-15, Philippians 1-2-11, and 1 Thessalonians 5, 12-28. Thanks for joining me in this season.

This is the word of the Lord. But thanks be to God, who in Christ Jesus always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, for you all making me my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus, and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

We ask you brothers to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves and we urge you brothers admonish the idol, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all, see that no one repays evil for evil but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophecies, but test everything, hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it. Brothers pray for us, greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.