Never Been This Homesick Before, The Holy Hills of Heaven(The Rambos)

Below is a poem that “Hubby” wrote for me a few years ago!

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Homesick For Heaven

When most little girls dreamed of having

A shining knight to love

Her heart was already set on treasures up above

She knew her travels would take her

To those streets of gold

Already homesick for heaven, I suppose

When there’s laughter all around her

And all her struggles put away

I see that melancholy smile no one’s supposed to see

I ask her how she’s feeling as I pull her close

She says “I’m homesick for heaven, I suppose”.

Many years from now

When her children are all grown

She’ll have bittersweet memories of her journey home

She’ll finally come to the place

She was always reaching for

And she won’t be homesick for heaven anymore.

She won’t be homesick for heaven anymore.

Lyrics by A.G. Lloyd © 2003

 

You could hear this sound this very night….

Tap-tap-tap! Pffff testing! Check?……. Is this thing on?

Cricket, cricket cricket.

Hmmm.  It’s awfully quiet out there.  Listen, I know it seems bad.  “Where is the promise of His appearing?”  Do you find yourself wondering?  It seems that everyone I hear from, everyone I talk to, has difficulties they are dealing with.  Isn’t it crazy how the world keeps turning on its axis when at the same time, nothing is okay?  I am not speaking to “just anybody” here, but to the Body of Christ.  Do you lay your weary head on the pillow each night and ask; “God, how much longer?”.  I’ll be honest with you, it’s getting harder and harder for me as I continue as a watchman, and see stories that grow more despicable each week.  So much so that I have refused to carry some of the accounts that other, similar blogs are continuing to carry, because it’s just reprobate.  The Bible says it is a sin even to bring some things to mind.  Little Muslim girls married off to old Muslim men to pay off parent’s debts.  Most of what came out in the Gosnell Trial, the exponentially worsening bullying on the part of the sodomite agenda.  And Obama’s unbelievable arrogance.  Today I read about a baby that was taken from the parents by CPS because they dared to request a second opinion about a heart procedure.  Eric Holder is saying that American parents do not have a right to home school their kids, while schools are acting more and more like they own your kids, and already they are forcing kids into very uncomfortable exposure to gay propaganda such as assigning girls to “lesbian kiss” or elementary school kids forced to watch graphic video “cartoons” about things that frankly even adults have no business viewing.  It is getting dark.  Real, real dark in this world.

That is to be expected just before the Son rises and bursts through the clouds!

He is coming for those who are watching and waiting.  He is never early or late.  He’ll be here.  Could be, this very night.

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Don’t let anyone or anything steal your blessed hope.   If you haven’t viewed Terry James’ interview with Gary Stearman, or read his book HeavenVision, I think you’ll be blessed if you go watch that interview now.  I believe that Terry James was given this vision because of his dedication as a watchman, that he and all of us who are watching, would be encouraged to finish the race.  Don’t give up.  We’re in the home stretch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An old favorite!

A Glimpse of Heaven

A Glimpse of Heaven (Sestina)

© S T Lloyd October 2012

He’ll gather the multitude of the ransomed

Where the streets are purest gold

In a land where no one shall ever grow old

And where burdens we’ll carry no more

When we meet on heaven’s shore

When Jesus takes us there

*

The light of His glory will shine there

As He walks among His ransomed

On the banks of that beautiful shore

His blood-bought jewels more precious than gold

Shall abide with Him now and forever more

Where their joy and wonder will never wax old

*

No more memory of the struggles of old,

Nor burdens we carried down there,

Only feasting on the delights of plenty in a place where there’ll always be more,

In gratitude we fall before Him, humbled and thankful children ransomed,

Our countenance glows as His does, eclipsing the shimmering gold

Like the glitter of the wind-swept water, there on that beautiful shore

*

Among us are those who stood before the human Jesus on Galilee’s shore

Having been there thousands of years already, though none have begun to get old

What wouldn’t they trade, of the choices they made, those whose preference was for Earthly gold?

What horror I saw on their faces below, as He swept us up and left them there

The invitation was extended to all, to answer His call, and be among the ransomed

But the day of Grace is extended no more

*

The sorrow and suffering we cannot know, of those pursued by Jesus no more.

Theirs an agonizing comprehension, when dragged by reptilic claws onto that other shore

Of that lake of fire, where they shall recall the words of that bothersome ransomed

Who warned them and showed them the words of the Sacred Book of old

And shall woefully mourn their flippant disdain, and casual dismissal of warnings there

Rebelliously clinging to Earthly pleasures, and the physical treasures of Earthly gold

*

Alchemy practiced o’er ancient mysteries, greedily prospected  the devil’s “fool’s gold”

Ever reaching higher, strove to break their bands asunder, and obain some ever- illusive “more”

Fumbling blind in futile aspiration of conq’ring God’s own throne, seating Self there.

Oh dreadful stench, vile river of sin, only death and decay do litter yon shore

Where beauty and youth, weighed by remorse, quickly ages decrepit, eternally old

Isolated torment, one solitary window, peers into heaven, to see the shining ransomed

*

See those who prayed, pled with tears, and warned, now strolling atop streets of gold clear as glass.  There across that unbreachable divide, whole and happy on that distant Heavenly shore

*

If only God would turn back time, give one moment more, oh how mistaken, how arrogantly they lived in that temporal, crumbling world of old. Oh just to sip the cool water of that sustaining river up there.  What crushing regret, bowing to King Jesus, King of all Kings,  never to be counted among the ransomed.

Mansions in Heaven?

This post is a little more off the top of the head than most I’ve done. So bear with me if I meander.  Think of it as organic, lol.

I have a strange mind.  I’m kind of an eclectomaniac.  (I made that word up).  I have lots of interests, a short attention span, and a bad memeory.  My mind can jump around.  A LOT. It’s just how God made me.  (ok, maybe middle age and parenthood played a part too).  Anyhoo, I am rather inquisitive, and kinda quirky in my way of looking at things.  Sometimes I think God gets tired of my incessant questions and tosses thoughts to me like a new toy just to catch a few minutes break.  “There, chew on that and see what comes to you”, He seems to say.  So here’s a peek inside my head from today:

*******

My Dad is a fairly simple fellow.  He firmly believes in reading the Bible and believing it for what it says.  Yet a pet peeve he harps upon is this idea that heaven is full of shiny pretentious mansions.  I’ve always sort of chuckled, wondering why the idea of mansions in heaven offended him so much.  He says, “well, it’s going to be perfect there.  No harsh weather, extreme heat or cold.  Why would we need a “shelter”, a great big old mansion for every single person in heaven?” (Probably the idea of it makes him feel a little claustrophobic.  He’s a country boy and likes the outdoors and open spaces).

We picture Jesus, (a carpenter when here on Earth) up there hammering, sawing, measuring, and taking great pleasure in building a house with all our preferences in mind, anticipating our delight.  We forget that before Jesus was a carpenter, He was The Creator God.  Still is.

Just out of the blue this morning, the Lord turned my mind to a familiar verse I’ve heard all my life and prompted me to “just think about it for a minute”.  So I did, and Sha-Zam!
The scripture God brought to mind was 2 Corinthians 5:1-4.  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that morality might be swallowed up in life.

Now, our friend Pastor Mike Hoggard says, take a principle or word and “chase it down” throughout the scriptures if you want to understand it.  The Bible is its own best and most exhaustive commentary and dictionary.

So I  compared 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 to John 14:2, the verse which no doubt inspired the famous song: In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

In both passages the word “house” is οἰκία- pronounced oy-kee’-ah, and means residence or abode. (Strongs G3624).

In John 14:2  the word “mansions” is μονή-pronounced mon-ay’, and means residence or abode. (Strongs G3438).

The word “house” is used 2026 times in the King James Bible!  206 times in the New Testament, and 10 times  in John.  That has nothing to do with  my point, I just think it is a cool factoid and it may fool you into thinking I’m smarter than I actually am, lol.

HOWEVER!!!!

The word “mansion” appears only ONE time in the whole Bible:  in John 14:2, and the meaning is the same as that in 2 Corinthians 5.

A tabernacle is, of course, a tent, or temporary residence.  That’s beside the point too, but what can I say? I love words.  I’m a word nerd.

Soooooo

Could it be that the “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”, the  much-anticipated upgrade from what we are “clothed upon with” here, to the “mansion” we shall be “clothed upon with” in heaven, is not referring to our own personal “palace” up there?

I understand the commonly accepted explanation of this passage comes about by parallel with the known marital customs of the ancient time and culture of Jesus day, wherein the bridegroom returned to His father’s land or house, and built an addition or dwelling for His bride, and when it was complete he would go fetch  her.  That’s really cool and all, but lets forget about that for a minute. Think about it!  What is it that  we groan for? Is it not that moment in time, in a twinkling of an eye, when we shed this corrupt earthly body and are clothed upon with the new incorruptible one!

Like turtles carry their “abode” with them everywhere they go, perhaps this “abode”/”house” or “mansion” spoken of is the new, perfect deluxe model body we will inhabit!  Maybe that’s what Jesus has been up there working on and preparing for us all these years!

A tent is to a mansion, as an earthly body is to a glorified heavenly body.  There’s really no comparison!   Ha! Who needs a castle?

Well, whether mansion means mansion in the plain sense of the word, or in the sense of a house-abode-upgraded body with which we will be “clothed upon”, Glory hallelujah, I say bring it on!  Either way it is going to be incomprehensibly awesome!