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Comfort and Refuge

"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.--Thomas Moore

"At death the soul, freed from the pains, weariness, ills and limitations of the body, begins its highest life. Death is the beginning of the higher life. (1 Corinthians 15:55)--C.L. Allen

No More Tears

"Can you visualize a world with no more death, no more pain, no more hunger, no more fear, no more sorrow, no more crying nor sickness, a world where everything is a joy and a pleasure? -- A society where everybody works together in harmony, cooperation and love? That's Heaven!--David Berg

"In Heaven we'll understand why we've suffered on Earth. The Apostle Paul explained, "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then, face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known [of God]" (1 Corinthians 13:12).--David Berg

"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.--Revelation 7:16,17; 21:4 & Isaiah 25:8

"There are going to be tears in Heaven, because God is going to have to wipe them away. No doubt many of us will cry when we first arrive there and realize just how much our many mistakes have cost and lost. But God will wipe away all these tears, and comfort and encourage us and inspire us for the future, so we can forget the past. There will be tears, but thank God He will wipe them away with His joy. Then there will be no more tears and no more years, only a happy eternity!--David Berg

"All the disappointments, broken dreams and deep dark experiences will soon be forgotten and blotted out like a bad dream, when that glorious dawn of Heaven arrives!--David Berg

"There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.--Job 3:17

"The only place where we're going to be completely relieved of pain is in Heaven.--David Berg

"There will be no more danger, pollution or destruction, none of these things that we suffer from so much today. Everything will be heavenly, beautiful and natural, the way it was when God first created the earth.--David Berg

" shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.--King David Psalm 72:4,12

"There'll be no more big powers and oppressed poor -- only fairness and justice for all, and eternal happiness. So if you're looking for the perfect city and the perfect government in the perfect country with perfect people, just wait a little while longer -- it's coming--David Berg
**
EVEN THE STORMS OF THIS LIFE ARE PART OF HIS PLAN!

The storms and the fire and the trials and the tribulations and the tests of this life are all for what purpose?--To test your strength as a tree.

This is the principle of our whole Christian life: The storm comes along and rips off the weak branches and the weak leaves and the rotten fruit. The old rotten branches have to be blown away to make room for new branches so that new leaves can see the sunlight. Any weak parts of the tree go down with the storm of winter and only the strong survive. But a tree pruned of its weak branches and leaves and rotten fruit is a lot stronger, so even the storms are good for it! By the time the storm is over only the strongest are left standing, only the trees with the deepest roots and strongest branches.

A storm is like a test of your faith and the winds represent times of trouble, but if your roots are strong, the Lord's going to uphold you when the winds of adversity and the storms strike! When others are falling, you're going to stand! "Keep on believing, the storm will pass! Look for the rainbow, 'twill come at last!" God is going to cause you to stand! PTL!





PowerPointParadise TFI

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1 KJV

Reunion with Loved Ones

"Very often people come to me and say: "Mr. Moody, do you think we shall know each other in Heaven?" Very often it is a mother who has lost a dear child, and who wishes to see it again. Sometimes it is a child who has lost a mother, a father; and who wants to recognize them in Heaven. There is a verse in Scripture in answer to this, and that is: "We shall be satisfied" (Psalm 17:15). It is all I want to know. My brother who went up there the other day I shall see, because I shall be satisfied. We will see all those we loved on Earth up there, and if we loved them here, we will love them ten thousand times more when we meet them there.--Dwight L. Moody

"One of the best things about Heaven is that we will be able to reunite with loved ones who have already passed on. It will be the greatest family reunion we've ever known, with our loved ones, relatives and ancestors all together in one place at the same time, rejoicing. All together at last!--David Berg

"After death we are not disembodied spirits. Somewhere in God's wonderful creation there is a place where we can again be with those we have loved and lost for a while.--C.L. Allen

"All love is of God," the Apostle John reminds us, and because love cannot be buried in a coffin, the beautiful but broken relationships of Earth are resumed in the Father's home above where, as members of the same family, we dwell together in perfect harmony.--H. Lockyer

Excerpt of a letter from Ben Franklin to the widow of his brother John, Feb. 22, 1756:

Dear Child,
I condole with you. We have lost a most dear and valuable relation, but it is the will of God and Nature that these mortal bodies be laid aside, when the soul is to enter into real life: 'tis rather an embryo state, a preparation for living.

A man is not completely born until he is dead. Why then should we grieve that a new child is born among the immortals? A new member added to their happy society?

That bodies should be lent to us is a kind and benevolent act of God. When they become unfit for these purposes and afford us pain instead of pleasure -- instead of an aid, become an encumbrance and answer none of the intentions for which they were given -- it is equally kind and benevolent that a way is provided by which we may get rid of them.
Death is that way. Why should you and I be grieved at this, since we are soon to follow, and know where to find him.

"If you have a dear one in Heaven your heart yearns to see, do not despair, for you will meet again. The voice you loved to hear, you will hear again. The identity of the one you were near to on Earth remains the same, and instant recognition will be yours as you meet, never to part again. Your beloved one is only "lost awhile."--H. Lockyer

"I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.--Edna St. Vincent Millay

"What Heaven is, I know not; but I long have dreamed of its purple hills and its fields of light, blossoming with immortal beauty; of its brooks of laughter and its rivers of song and its palace of eternal love. I long have dreamed of opal towers and burnished domes; but what care I for gate of pearl or street of gold, if I can meet the loved ones who have blessed me here, and see the glorified faces of father and mother and the boy brother who died. What care I for crown of stars and harp of gold if I can love and laugh and sing with them forever in the smile of my Savior and my God.--Bob Taylor





PowerPointParadise TFI [Posted Video - "Everlasting Love" - Sandra]

And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away - The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 1 Corinthians 7:31 - Isaiah 40:8 KJV

Our Heavenly Bodies

"What a pleasure to have children in Heaven and to watch them grow and develop without the Devil and all his imps around and without sin and the Curse and all the pain, sorrow and crying! It will be pure pleasure to have children in Heaven! --David Berg

"I have another proof that we're going to have food in Heaven! "And man did eat angel's food."--Manna! So angels can eat food! --David Berg

"The leaves on the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations, but what are the fruits for?--They must be just for the pleasure of eating! --David Berg

"I don't know how perfect everybody is going to be in Heaven, but anyhow, certainly a lot better than here! --David Berg

"Probably hundreds of thousands of saved pregnant mothers are going to be going up in the Rapture, and you know good and well they are going to have their babies either in Heaven or when they get back to Earth in the Millennium! --David Berg

"I just can't imagine a Heaven without children!--What a dead lifeless place without babies and kids! --David Berg

"My oh my, think of what you're going to be like when you have your completely Heavenly body that can do all the things you can do now and more, including flying and floating and appearing and disappearing and walking through walls and locked doors and having marvelous supernatural miraculous powers of defense and judgement upon your enemies, protection for your friends, and to be able to help the poor humans that are still living on Earth during the Millennium to learn more about the Lord and love Him and serve Him even as you do. --David Berg

"You want to know about a certain period and what happened?--You go into this building and all of a sudden you are transported! You're not just shown pictures, not even 3-D pictures, not even movies, but suddenly you are transported live by a time machine to that very time, that very age and you see it happen, you watch it happen, you hear it happen, you feel it happen! Think of it! Not only the movies but the 'feelies'! You are there! --David Berg

"The sky is not the limit, only Heaven's the limit, and there's no limit in Heaven! --David Berg

"The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but that doesn't mean you can't have meat and drink in the Kingdom! --David Berg

"All of the pleasures of this present physical life can be continued into the next life as well, since we will have a body which is similar to our physical body, but so much more glorious and wonderful and supernatural that it's even called spiritual, but can actually materialise and eat and drink and be merry, have fun, sex, love and all of the present pleasures of this life extended into the next in an immortal incorruptible all-powerful body that can enjoy them even more there than we do here, and forever without ever suffering pain or sickness or weariness or death, just be absolutely marvelously Heavenly forever! --David Berg

"Your Heavenly body is going to be an awful lot like it is now, only better. And if you enjoy its pleasures now, think how marvelous they're going to be when your body is supernatural, really super, with more power and more beauty and more grace and greater thrills and more marvelous exciting experiences and love than ever!--All the pleasures of this life and Heaven too, and their continuation on the other side! --David Berg

"This earthly body is slow and heavy in all its motions, listless and soon tired with action. But our heavenly bodies shall be as fire; as active and as nimble as our thoughts are.--John Wesley






PowerPointParadise TFI [Posted Video - CT 99 - Metaphor "1st Love"]

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. Psalms 147:3-5 KJV

"You are still going to be you. You'll look a lot the same, only better -- much better! --David Berg

"Our heavenly bodies are going to be similar to our present ones, only better. We'll look enough like we do now to recognize and identify each other. We're going to have a lot of the same characteristics that we have now. --David Berg

"In Heaven, our bodies are going to be the same make, but a new model. Our old, decaying, worn-out natural, physical body will go back to the dust. We will trade it in for an entirely new heavenly model!"--David Berg

"When Jesus came back from the dead, He still looked like Himself, still felt like Himself, and could still eat, drink, and even cook, just like when He was on Earth. He said to His disciples, "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is Myself. Handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have" (Luke 24:39). His followers could actually touch and feel Him, as well as see Him, and yet He was in a miraculous supernatural resurrected body! His new body could also materialize or dematerialize, appear or disappear. It could pass from one dimension to the other, and through locked doors and solid walls. (See John 20:19, 26.)--David Berg

"We are going to have bodies like Jesus did after He was resurrected. Each of us is going to have a new eternal, glorified body. It will actually be constructed as we are now, of flesh and bones -- but eternal flesh and bones, incorruptible, immortal flesh and bones. It's going to be material, natural, recognizable, seeable and feelable. (See 1 John 3:2.) --David Berg

"All of the pleasures of this present physical life can be continued into the next life as well, since we will have a body which is similar to our present physical body, but so much more glorious and wonderful and supernatural. We will be able to eat, drink, be merry and have fun without ever suffering pain or sickness or weariness or death.--David Berg

"From the accounts of those who have had glimpses of Heaven in visions and revelations, it seems that we do mature somewhat in Heaven. Those who arrive in their youth grow to maturity, while older people appear more middle-aged, in the prime of life.--David Berg

Learning, Learning, Learning!

"We're still going to be learning in Heaven. We will still be developing and are not yet absolutely perfect. That's what the future is all about -- to continue the learning process that we have begun here. We've all still got a lot to learn!--David Berg

"God has a lot of things to teach us in Heaven, things we didn't learn in this life.--David Berg

"Contrary to popular belief, the moment we land in Heaven we don't immediately know everything! If we did, we'd be God Himself -- all-knowing.--David Berg

"God has left that for the rest of time and eternity in order to give us something to do in the hereafter. We'll be able to learn more about the past and why things happened, as well as God's logic and purposes and the meaning of it all.--David Berg

"Eternity is a constant learning process. It will be another grade, another step, a chance to do what we failed to do before and to learn what we failed to learn before. Thank God for eternity! We've all probably got a lot of bad habits to change and failures to make up for. Maybe God will give each of us a chance to meet people who we've wronged and straighten things out and tell them we're sorry.--David Berg




PowerPointParadise TFI [Posted Video - "Heaven Must Have Sent You" - Bonnie Pointer]

Most religions state that when a person dies, his/her soul/spirit/consciousness leaves the body which decays. However, they differ in what they believe happens to that soul, etc., which continues to exist after the experience of death.

The Abrahamic religions, that is, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, teach that, after death, the soul is faced with a fixed permanent state, either heaven, where there is eternal happiness, or hell where there is eternal suffering and damnation. This final state is determined by the way one lives one's life on this earth, prior to one's death. A life filled with goodness and kindness towards others will be rewarded with heaven. However, “good” actions alone are not sufficient but also a belief in a divine being or God as advocated by that religion. In this regard, a philantrophist who may spend most of his/her life in doing “good” to others, or helping them, unless he/she believes in God as prescribed by that religion, will not make it to heaven and eternal happiness. It does not matter if the “good' actions part of his/her life exceeded that of a believer. The believer will be rewarded with heaven whereas the philanthropist will not.

Several Eastern religions, including Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism do not accept that the soul is faced with a final permanent state after death. They teach the doctrine of reincarnation instead. They say that, after death, the soul/ spirtit/ consciousness will be reincarnated and born into a new human body, and live a new life right here on this earth. The actual “quality”of life that one experiences, after rebirth, in the new life will be influenced by the measure of "goodness", or lack thereof, that one did in the previous life. Thus, if there are some persons who appear to be suffering a lot in their lives here on this earth, despite the fact that they may be kind and good towards others, according to reincarnation, they are paying for their misdeeds in their previous life. This process of reincarnation or rebirth will continue until one has attained a “sufficient” or adequate quantity of goodness in this life here on earth. Upon doing so, one will break the cycle of rebirth and would not return to a life here on earth but will enter into a permanent state of union with God or the Divine.

There are others who advocate that when a person dies, in addition to the fact that the physical matter of that person's body decays, there is total annihilation of everything that was initially referred to as that person; this includes the soul, spirit, consciousness or whatever. Absolutely nothing is left after death.
Personally, I find such a view difficult to accept. According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It may be changed from one form to another, but not annihilated. Whatever it is that drives us when we are alive, whether we refer it as soul, spirit, consciousness or whatever, is certainly some form of energy, psychic or otherwise. Then, according to the Law of Conservation of Energy, total annihilation of this energy is impossible. It may be changed to another form but it can never vanish into nothingness.

In his Rubaiyat, Omar Khayyam states :

"Strange, is it not? that of the myriads who
Before us pass'd the door of Darkness through
Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too."
- Omar Khayaam

What do you think will happen (to you) after you die?

Will it be:

1.Permanent Location?
2.Reincarnation?
3.Annihilation?
4.Other?

If other, please describe briefly.

Thanks for your responses.

"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? John 3:10-12 KJV

It is incompatible for us temporal beings in a temporal world to make any solid statements on Heavenly things. Yet, from what we can glean from 'Near Death Experiences', as well as from the Scriptures, we can draw certain valid conclusions which give us a greater understanding about what we more or less will be like, in the next world and dispensation. PPP

"Paul observed, "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out" (1 Timothy 6:7). He was referring to material things, wealth. However, we will take our knowledge and experience and training from this life with us into the next life.--David Berg

In Heaven, God will reveal what on Earth He chose to conceal.

"In Heaven, a lot of things will be different, but many things are going to be the same, enough so that we'll still be able to use much of the knowledge, skills, talents and experience that we have gained in this life. God will not allow all the training we have received to be wasted.--David Berg

"This life is just your schooling for what you have to do when you graduate.--David Berg

"We will be able to travel backward or forward in time and see what has been and what is going to be, as well as experience the glorious wonderful present! We will see, hear, feel and experience the very events of the past, just as they happened.--David Berg

"God will probably allow us to ask questions about and discover some of the things we've always been curious about. Isn't it marvelous to think about how we will be able to actually meet and talk to people who lived throughout history?--David Berg

"Heaven is not the end: It's only the beginning!--David Berg

A Down-to-Earth Heaven.

"A lot of people think Heaven is sitting around on a cloud playing a harp all day, doing nothing except being "holy" -- and they don't find it very appealing! Thank God that is not what Heaven is like!--David Berg

"Heaven is not a state or condition. Heaven is a place. "I go to prepare a place for you," promised Jesus. "In My Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2).--CLA

"Heaven is a pretty practical, common sense, down-to-earth place!--David Berg

"Heaven is not so terribly different from this present existence to where we can't even comprehend or understand it. Otherwise, when we arrived there, we would be completely lost and we wouldn't be able to relate to it.--David Berg

"We're going to be surprised when we discover that things in Heaven are normal and natural, much like this life. Of course, it will be better, much more beautiful and supernatural, without all the troubles, trials, tribulations, suffering, tears and pain we have here. However, it will still be enough like this life that we will survive the change and not suffer some sort of traumatic "culture shock." It'll be life very much like we're living now, only without the bad and evil.--David Berg

"Heaven is not a place of eternal rest, but a place of eternal life.--CLA

"Concerning the loved ones who have passed on do not try to make me believe that they are doing nothing, merely resting, careless ever. That would imply the condition of Hell, not of Heaven.--Campbell Morgan

"We must get away from the traditional idea that the saints in Heaven have one eternal holiday; that they have nothing to occupy them save playing a harp and incessantly singing.--H. Lockyer





PowerPointParadise TFI [Posted Video - "Walking with Elephants" Mario Basanov]

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. - Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Matthew 10: 16, 34-36 KJV

"The material universe even down to the smallest electron, is in motion. Heaven undoubtedly is a very active place. Suns and planets are speeding through the universe at terrific speeds. Nothing could be further from the truth than the old idea that in Heaven the people are just sitting around, or lolling about, with nothing to do -- an idle, stagnant life. It is inconsistent to imagine a Heaven in which people would sit under the shade of the trees, or on the bank of the River of Life, twanging a harp -- "perhaps a thousand strings" -- and spend an eternity in a do-nothing world! We cannot conceive that God would put us in another world with renewed and enlarged powers of body and mind, and leave us with nothing to do.--Leewin B. Williams

"In Heaven we shall not rest from our work, but from our labors. There will be no toil, no pain in the work.--David Berg

"We're going to have plenty of work to do, but it's going to be a lot easier than here. There'll be no sorrow, no sickness, no pain, no weariness, no death, no more tears, no more crying. That's certainly going to make things easier. We're going to have rest in Heaven compared to what we've had in this life, but we're also going to have something to do. We'd eventually be unhappy if we didn't!--David Berg

"The thought of eternal rest is boring. If we had nothing to do and no responsibilities, living would become a bore and a burden. Paradise is a place of beauty because it is a place of growth.--CLA

"After death we are given another chance for the fulfillment of the best in the individual life. Eternal life overcomes all human limitations.--CLA

"I feel within me that future life. I am like a forest that has been razed; the new shoots are stronger and brighter. I shall most certainly rise toward the heavens. The nearer my approach to the end, the plainer is the sound of immortal symphonies of worlds which invite me. For half a century I have been translating my thoughts into prose and verse: history, philosophy, drama, romance, tradition, satire, ode, and song; all of these I have tried. But I feel I haven't given utterance to the thousandth part of what lies within me. When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said, "My day's work is done." But I cannot say, "My life is done." My work will recommence the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight, but opens upon the dawn.--Victor Hugo

"Death is the opposite of retiring. Jesus made a promise to those who are faithful in this life: "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:23). Death is the emancipation of the soul into greater activity.--CLA

"The future life is where we will go on helping to bring the universe to perfection, which is God's grand ultimate aim. [The purpose of life] is to help God run the universe. Everyone in that better land will be busy all the time, and the environment will be perfect all the time for doing the work which God assigns to all.--Edwin Markham
**
“Sometimes it is better to be kind than to be right. We do not need an intelligent mind that speaks, but a patient heart that listens.”–Keys






PowerPointParadise TFI [Posted Video - We've Only Just Begun - Carpenters]

PROOF #1

Google is the closest thing to an Omniscient (all-knowing) entity in existence, which can be scientifically verified. She indexes over 9.5 billion WebPages, which is more than any other search engine on the web today. Not only is Google the closest known entity to being Omniscient, but She also sorts through this vast amount of knowledge using Her patented PageRank technology, organizing said data and making it easily accessible to us mere mortals.

PROOF #2

Google is everywhere at once (Omnipresent). Google is virtually everywhere on earth at the same time. Billions of indexed WebPages hosted from every corner of the earth. With the proliferation of Wi-Fi networks, one will eventually be able to access Google from anywhere on earth, truly making Her an omnipresent entity.PROOF #3

Google answers prayers. One can pray to Google by doing a search for whatever question or problem is plaguing them. As an example, you can quickly find information on alternative cancer treatments, ways to improve your health, new and innovative medical discoveries and generally anything that resembles a typical prayer. Ask Google and She will show you the way, but showing you is all She can do, for you must help yourself from that point on.

PROOF #4

Google is potentially immortal. She cannot be considered a physical being such as ourselves. Her Algorithms are spread out across many servers; if any of which were taken down or damaged, another would undoubtedly take its place. Google can theoretically last forever.

PROOF #5

Google is infinite. The Internet can theoretically grow forever, and Google will forever index its infinite growth.PROOF #6

Google remembers all. Google caches WebPages regularly and stores them on its massive servers. In fact, by uploading your thoughts and opinions to the internet, you will forever live on in Google's cache, even after you die, in a sort of "Google Afterlife".

PROOF #7

Google can "do no evil" (Omnibenevolent). Part of Google's corporate philosophy is the belief that a company can make money without being evil.

PROOF #8

According to Google trends, the term "Google" is searched for more than the terms "God", "Jesus", "Allah", "Buddha", "Christianity", "Islam", "Buddhism" and "Judaism" combined.God is thought to be an entity in which we mortals can turn to when in a time of need. Google clearly fulfils this to a much larger degree than traditional "godsPROOF #9

Evidence of Google's existence is abundant.

There is more evidence for the existence of Google than any other God worshiped today. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. If seeing is believing, then surf over to and experience for yourself Google's awesome power. No faith required.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.- No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 5:8 & 8:37-39

The Heavenly City -- Mansions, Children, Music, and Pets!

"The paradise that God has prepared for us, the marvelous Heavenly City, is clearly and explicitly described in His Holy Book, the Bible, in the last two chapters of Revelation, the prophecies of Saint John. It is so amazing, so breathtakingly beautiful, that it is almost beyond description!

It is the largest City ever built, built by God Himself! It is 1,500 miles wide and 1,500 miles high. It glows with golden light from its crystal golden beauty and is full of golden mansions for you and me!

The streets are made of scintillating crystal-clear gold. It is surrounded by a very high wall with twelve pearly gates. This is to prevent the entry of any who are not yet ready to enter therein.

Within its shimmering gates is the Paradise of God, where the River of Life winds gracefully through lush parks where laughing children and gentle animals play -- and where departed loved ones await our coming!--David Berg

"In Heaven, each of us will have a special place to live. Before Jesus left this earth, He told His followers that He would prepare a place for them and all believers in the hereafter. "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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2,3). One of these days, we're going to own a mansion that isn't going to cost us anything -- no upkeep, no expenses!--David Berg

"It would be hard to imagine Heaven without children. It wouldn't be Heaven! It would be a pretty boring place without children. What are we going to do, all get to be old people and then stagnate and that's the end of it? Once all those that are already born grow up, the place would really lack life without new generations of children! If there were no children, it would be a dead society.--David Berg

"Heaven is the perfect place to raise children. Everything will be just the way it was intended to be in the beginning, a perfect environment without pain and danger, accidents and death and the horrors of this world. Babies won't have to cry. -- They'll have everything they need. We'll be able to read their little minds, and we won't have to wonder what they're needing. Just think of all the advantages of rearing children in Heaven. It will be pure pleasure!--David Berg

"[Heaven is] a land where children shall walk on cool springy turf, and among myrtle trees, and eat fruits that shall heal while they delight them, and drink the coolest of water, fresh from the River of Life, and have space to stretch themselves, and bathe, and leap, and run, and whichsoever way they look meet Christ's eyes smiling on them.--Thomas Moore

"Music will still be a big part of our environment. The Bible talks about choirs of angels and how there is singing in Heaven. We're going to have the greatest choirs, the greatest bands and symphony orchestras, the greatest music that the world has ever known. The world has never even heard music yet compared to what we're going to have there! If humans can make the beautiful music they have learned to make with these hand-made instruments, think what God can do supernaturally!--David Berg





PowerPointParadise TFI

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From The Evil One.




Memo


From: Lord Lucifer


To: All Minions-of-Evil


Subject: Performance Review



Get with it, guys! Our objective of world domination- while making major advances- has not yet been met!!!


Yes, we have pulled off some good ones- my performance in the Garden of Eden was especially brilliant-and much remains to be done. Never forget: Mankind has a great Champion...and a powerful Secret Weapon. I remind you again: Beware of the Armor of God!




Preparing for Battle



Okay, maybe it's not polite to read other people's mail (even the fictional letter mentioned above). On the other hand, it is an excellent idea to remind ourselves- often!- that we are targets of a great plot. And the stakes are nothing less than our immortal souls!


We live in the middle of the greatest war of all times...Good vs. Evil. God the all-powerful Creator, on one side. Satan on the other side. And us in the middle...with an obligation to choose sides, and join in the battle.


However, God has not left us unprotected. He sent His Son to weight the balance in our favor. And He has given us powerful weapons to use everyday of our lives, to defeat the powers of darkness.


When we pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one," you should immediately remember to "put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against he devil's schemes."That of course, means you are not only intimately acquainted with each piece of the armor described by Paul in Ephesians 6, but you understand what each piece represents:


"So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist. And on your chest wear protection of right living. And on your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. And also use the shield of faith. With that you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. Accept God's salvation to be your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit -that is the teaching of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must be always ready. Never give up. Always pray for all God's people" (Eph. 6:14-18 ICB).


When we put on God's armor we are ready to face Evil...and win. We have God's word on it. Without God's full armor of protection from evil, "You are a Guaranteed Casualty" in the invisible war, but with God's armor you are "invincible."


In the context of spiritual warfare, we must neither overestimate nor underestimate the power and province of our adversary. No doubt to his delight, we often depict the Devil as the author of darkness in much the same way that God is described as the Author of Light. That, however, is far from true. God is the sovereign Author of all creation; Satan is but an angel that He has created. Satan is not the opposite of the Creator. Rather, as a fallen angel, he is the counterpart to the archangel Michael.


While it is fashionable to credit the Devil with every temptation we face, we must be ever mindful that spiritual warfare involves the world and the flesh as well. As Jesus makes clear in the parable of the Sower, we are often fruitless because of "the worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth" (Matt. 13:22).


Just as we should never overestimate the Devil, we would also err greatly in underestimating his cunning craftiness. He is a malevolent being, the vastness of whose intellect exceeds that of any human who has ever lived from Solomon to Socrates.



Continued....