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Our theology tends to come from sources we trust. Some people, instead of trusting Scripture, believe a hodgepodge of pop psychology and pop religion, with a little New Age philosophy thrown in. And some people think they trust Scripture, but don’t bother to read and know it well enough to recognize truth (or heresy) when they see or hear it.

During a spectacular meteor shower years ago, I stood on our deck watching a clear sky. Part of the fun was hearing oohs and aahs in the distance, from neighbors looking upward. Multiply these oohs and aahs by ten thousand times ten thousand, and it’ll suggest our thunderous response to what our Father will do in the new heavens as we look upward from the New Earth.

Grieving a loved one’s death is a long, often lonely, always painful process. Four key players stand out in my continued healing journey through grief—the first being my firm belief in the promises of Jesus about our eternal future.

We may want to turn away from world suffering and refuse to reflect on the significance of our own pain; we just want it to go away. But despite the superficiality of our culture, we remain God’s image-bearers—thinking and caring people, wired to ask questions and seek answers.

Earlier this month, I visited First Baptist of Leesburg, Florida and spoke at their weekend services. I also did an evening Q&A with Pastor Cliff, and we covered a range of topics and questions. The ministries on that church campus are remarkable!

When I taught a theology of Heaven class, I was asked, “How accessible will Jesus be to us on the New Earth?” On the one hand, Jesus is a man, and man is finite and limited to one location. On the other hand, Jesus is God, and God is infinite and omnipresent.  

Several years ago I shared on my blog about Christopher Yuan’s story of God’s grace, and his deliverance from homosexual sin. He posted on Twitter on February 15: “Today marks 22 years since I walked out of prison and my parents drove me to the halfway house in Chicago. Praise God for His faithfulness!”

During Randy’s visit to First Baptist Church in Leesburg Florida, he spoke with Pastor Cliff Lea in a question-and-answer session. They talk about grief, Heaven, if we can know when the Lord is going to return, and more.

Randy visited First Baptist Church in Leesburg, Florida, where he spoke on the subject of heavenly treasure: “You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.” He talked about having a right perspective on the things that God has entrusted to us, as well as the joy to be found in giving.

The basic problem with the health-and-wealth gospel is that it is man-centered rather than God-centered. When approached from the prosperity posture, prayer degenerates into coercion, where we “name it and claim it,” pulling God’s leash until He comes through. We attempt to arm-twist the Almighty into underwriting comfortable, suffering-free lifestyles.

People define the good life in different ways, but everybody wants to live it. After all, what’s the alternative? Living a bad life? A pointless, guilt-ridden, or miserable life? We’d all choose the good life any day, and yet we often don’t understand how to make it happen.

“To die will be an awfully big adventure,” says Peter Pan. But it will be a wonderful, big adventure only for those who are covered by the blood of Christ. Those who die without Jesus will experience a horrifying tragedy. Of course, dying is not the real adventure. Death is merely the doorway to eternal life. 

I wrote 50 Days of Heaven by selecting the material most suitable from my book Heaven for a devotional, then rewriting it in a different style. Why write different sized books on one subject? Because they’re designed to reach different audiences with varying interests and preferences. 

Charles Spurgeon loved to connect the gospel and happiness: “There is nothing that more tends to strengthen the faith of the young believer than to hear the veteran Christian, covered with scars from the battle, testifying that the service of his Master is a happy service...”