Tag: Heaven

Links for the Weekend (2026-04-24)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

I never felt like reading the Bible. Here’s what changed.

Reagan Rose grew up in a church that emphasized the importance of reading the Bible. But he never enjoyed doing it. Read his article about how he grew to look forward to reading the Bible.

I guess if I were to try and sum all of this up in a single word, that word would be faith. The thing that drove me to consistently reading the Bible daily was faith. It was faith that the Bible could be read and understood that got me to open it up. And it was faith that reading the Scriptures wasn’t a heavy burden but an immense privilege. And that faith was blessed with fruit, as the Word did its work in my life. 

Heaven Will Forget None of Its Heroes

Tim Challies compares the way countries treat their military heroes to the way God’s people will be honored in heaven.

There will be many surprises on the day the Lord calls us all to give an account. I am convinced that one of the greatest surprises will be this: that those who have received the least acclaim on earth may receive the most acclaim in heaven. In fact, God’s Word tells us that many of those who are first will be last and many of those who are last will be first. The least names on earth may be the greatest in heaven, while the greatest names on earth may be the least in heaven. 

4 Reasons Why Fasting Is Worth It

Cassie Achermann writes about four blessings that come along with fasting.

By stripping away the comforts our culture tells us are essential, we see that they’re only cheap imitations of God’s comfort. Fasting isn’t reserved for those with great self-control; it’s also for those who see their need for self-control. It’s not reserved for those who walk closely with God; it’s also for those who lament their distance from him. If you’re tired of relying on yourself, if you’ve experienced the emptiness of worldly comforts, if you desire a deeper relationship with God—fasting is for you.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Corporate Worship: An Engine of Christian Hope

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

For the Christian, the corporate worship service is (ideally) the highlight of the week. Yes, that gathering is a chance to reconnect with close friends and to put “worldly cares” aside. Even more, this is a time when believers hear from and worship the triune God—that essential activity for which we were made and which properly reorients our souls.

Something else is happening in that worship service. We are taking part in a grand rehearsal. Worship is happening in heaven right now and will surely be a central part of life on the new earth. Thus, the elements of the worship service point us forward, signposts of our heavenly business.

I’ve been thinking of Christian hope as the joyful expectation that God will keep his promises. The corporate worship service offers numerous chances for us to look ahead with anticipation.

Singing

There is a lot of evidence in the Bible for heavenly worship (Rev. 4:8–11, 22:3). Singing will certainly play a role.

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. (Rev. 14:1–3)


And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb… (Rev 15:2–3)

Singing engages our emotions and our wills in ways that spoken words do not. As we join in song in corporate worship, we can look ahead and imagine an even greater crowd, a more glorious sound, and our praise unstained by distraction or worldly desires.

Giving

For those who take a purely logistical angle on the weekly tithe/offering, there seems no need for this in heaven. We won’t need to pay a pastor or an electric bill then, will we?

But our giving doesn’t happen on Sundays out of convenience. It is just as much an act of worship for modern Christians as the first fruits of the harvest were for Old Testament believers. Through this lens, it’s not surprising to learn that giving back to God will continue in the coming age.

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:9–11)

In heaven we will fully understand how worthy God is of all we have, including all he has given to us.

Proclaiming the Gospel

The best Christian worship services proclaim the gospel not only during the sermon but through the structure of the liturgy. The gospel is so central and glorious that we will be focusing on it for eternity.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9–10)

God Speaks

Hope is meant to sustain us with a vision of joy to come. Our hope may be stoked by sorrow or by joy, but the Christian worship service is another great incubator for this hope.

Many churches rightly feature the Bible throughout corporate worship. God’s people need to hear God’s word. And this is unlikely to stop in the new creation.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Rev. 21:3)

God will be with us; we will have fellowship with him; he will speak to us in a way we haven’t fully known here on earth.

No worship service is perfect. But what goes on then is glorious, and that includes training our minds and hearts to long for the world to come.

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The Negations of Heaven

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

What will heaven be like? We know only partial answers to this question from the Bible, but this doesn’t stop many from speculating. This is something Christians dearly want to know.

Some of what we know of heaven is stated positively. God will dwell with his people; he will be their God; he will make all things new.

But, curiously, some of what we learn about heaven is stated negatively. Why is that?

I have two main passages in mind. In Revelation 21:4, we learn the following about heaven.

  • God will wipe away every tear.
  • Death will be no more.
  • There will be no more mourning, crying, or pain.
  • The former things will have passed away.

In addition, we read in Revelation 22:3 that there will be nothing cursed in the new creation.

In 1 Peter 1:4, the apostle writes about our inheritance with negative language. We have been born again “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”

Perhaps the reason for this is obvious, but it’s worth saying out loud. The Bible is teaching us what heaven will be like by contrast. Our current life is full of tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain. All of the inheritances we know about perish, get defiled, and fade away. What is heaven like? It is the opposite of all of the cursed parts of our current experience.

From when we’re very young, this is how we learn. We acquire new information by making a bridge from the known to the unknown. We are familiar with pain; we understand physical, emotional, and mental anguish. The new heavens and the new earth will have absolutely none of that.

This short observation is not groundbreaking, but it is an invitation. This week, when you feel the curse of sin scratching its thorns against your shins, or when you feel nearly crushed by the weight of sin and suffering, think of the contrast the Lord has promised you. Look to the future with hope, for one day the earth will be remade and sin will be no more.

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Links for the Weekend (2024-10-18)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

What does an idol promise?

This post from Brad East helped me think through some of the attraction of idols.

I am tempted to say that an idol cannot bless, cannot impart gifts at all. But that cannot be true simpliciter. If, sometimes, demons lie behind idols, then it stands to reason that, as living beings, demons can exchange gifts for sacrifices, blessings for devotion. All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. The false note is not that Satan’s offer is a lie without remainder but that, as always, it is intermixed with the truth; whether or not Satan can give what he offers, worship is due God alone regardless.

How Heaven Changes Your Life on Earth

Cameron Cole started thinking a lot more about heaven after the tragic death of his young child. He wrote a book and talked about the book on this podcast. (There’s a transcript available as well.)

Imminence

Poem of the week: Imminence, by Carla Galdo. It’s about autumn, objectively the best season of the year.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called No Good Tree Bears Bad Fruit. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

No Images

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

One of the best parts of my mother-in-law’s house is her refrigerator. And that’s not just because of what’s inside.

She has filled the front of her refrigerator with dozens of photographs. I love picking up these pictures, asking her questions, and listening to her talk about family and friends. There are people and moments captured in those frames I don’t see elsewhere.

We take pictures to remember, to commemorate. A wedding, the first day of school, that amazing meal—we crave documentation because our memories are faulty. Pictures are so easy, and remembering is so hard.

God’s Forgetful People

Despite our efforts to remember cherished people and critical truths, we forget. And forgetfulness has consequences.

The Bible is realistic enough to portray people like us, people who forget. And we have a lot to learn from the impulses of those who don’t remember God and his commands.

In fact, it doesn’t take long after the ten commandments are given for the Israelites to break them in pieces. The second commandment (no images) takes a direct hit in Exodus 32.

Moses is meeting with God on the mountain and the people start to wonder if he’s ever coming down. They enlist Aaron to make “gods who shall go before [them]” (Ex 32:1). They worship a metal calf because “they forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt” (Ps 106:21).

The people wanted something to see. They used God’s covenant name (YHWH) but attributed his works to melted earrings (Ex 32:4). They forgot, so they made an image.

The problem with man-made images of God is that none of them are true. Since no one has seen God and lived, any image of God we generate is false. Thus the reference to jealousy in the second commandment (Ex 20:4–6). Our images lead to false worship.

Faith and Sight

We’re all on a quest to see, a quest to remember. Here is the hurdle: How do we follow what we cannot see? How do we stay true to the invisible God?

This is the essence of faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). We depend on God for the gift of faith when we are blind. Faith seeks what is unseen; faith stretches forward.

Consider Moses again. He destroys the golden calf and pleads with God to go with his people into the promised land. God agrees, and Moses is overjoyed; he cries, “Show me Your glory!” The image is gone, but after a grueling test of faith, Moses wants to see. Please sustain me, just for a moment, with the sight of your glory!

The Image of God

God’s people throughout time share this challenge: “Take care, lest you forget the Lord” (Dt 8:11).

Without pictures or images, how can we remember? How can we avoid the septic spirals of sin that have ravaged forgetful saints through the ages?

God, in his mercy, has provided what we need. Hear this glorious truth about Jesus:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Col 1:15)

Humans are made in the image of God, which is no small thing. But Jesus is the perfect image of God. If you want to know what God is like, if you need help remembering, look at Jesus!

When we remember Jesus, what he taught and what he accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection, we’ll remember our proper place before God. We’ll remember that we were “separated from Christ” and without hope, but that now we are “brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph 2:11–13).

We turn again and again to the Bible, where the truth about Jesus is captured with authority. We turn to a healthy, local church, where we remind each other what is true. We turn to the Spirit, who points us to the Father through the Son.

We also turn to the future, because one day we will have no more temptation toward image-making. One day, we will see.

Sight will replace faith and forgetfulness will be forgotten. We will see more brightly and clearly and truthfully than ever before.

And in fact, we will hardly believe our eyes. We will see what we have always longed for. We will see God himself, for he will dwell with his people.

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Links for the Weekend (2024-08-23)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

3 Reasons Heaven Doesn’t Affect Us as Much as It Should

Cameron Cole has lost a child, so these thoughts about heaven are the fruit of going through the fire.

Heightened heavenly mindedness has given me greater contentment, provided strength to persevere in suffering, and inspired me to focus on mission and evangelism. The pain of my son’s death isn’t something I would’ve chosen, and I won’t completely outrun it in this fallen world. But the heavenward shift the Lord brought has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.

How (and How Not) to Talk with Your Kids about Sexuality

It is increasingly important for parents to talk with their children about sex. But the thought of such a conversation can cause anxiety. Here is some wise counsel.

As we think about parenting in this cultural moment, few issues are more urgent and fraught to talk about with your children than sexuality and sex. This is urgent because if you do not talk about it first, the culture certainly will; it is fraught because as our culture changes in how it understands sexuality, it has unhelpfully elevated it to a status that sexuality was never meant to hold, biblically speaking.

How One Family Navigated Smartphones and Social Media in the Teen Years

Here’s another article about parenting, though like the best articles, it has much to offer even to those who aren’t parents. Without insisting on specifics, this family reports the decisions they made and their recommendations regarding technology.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Golden Calf Reveals the Goal of the Exodus. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2023-10-20)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

The Last Thing Sufferers Need to Hear

Does the sovereignty of God bring comfort in the midst of suffering? It can, but it might not be the first thing to share with a grieving friend.

But for others, these truths—prematurely applied—can bypass the grieving process that needs to happen to fully reckon with and heal from a loss. Our brains often work in binaries, assuming that if God is in control, we shouldn’t make a fuss about it. Good theology can be used to heal the wound lightly, pronouncing “Peace, peace” when, in the raw heart of the bereaved, there is no peace (Jer. 6:14).

The Power And Pitfall Of Vulnerability

This author writes about learning to be vulnerable and the difference between online and local vulnerability.

I hated vulnerability because I’d rather push through life on my own. Put my head down, wipe the sweat and tears from my face, and plow forward alone. I sought independence, because it was the only way to keep my pride before others. If they knew what laid in my closet, they’d mock me, disown me. No one could see the shadows and grim behind my façade.

The Afterlife

This article is another entry in the “Theology in the Everyday” series at For The Church. The author here explains the Bible’s teaching on what happens after we die.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Taking a Biblical Worldview to My Back Yard. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Taking a Biblical Worldview to My Back Yard

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Our theology affects everything, not just the parts of life we call “religious.” We live every second before God, so we should think theologically about every detail, from the majestic to the mundane.

A Familiar Structure

I have an intense, irrational hatred for yard work. I don’t understand or like this about myself, but I’d trade yard work for washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, or doing laundry any day of the week.

And yet, instead of grumbling about this task, I should think about it biblically. Here’s my attempt to frame this work in the familiar categories of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation.

Creation

A healthy lawn and blooming flowers are beautiful. When God sends the rain and the sun and the yard explodes with color, it can be breathtaking.

We have a great lesson in the plant world: God brings life from the dirt. As Adam was created from the dust (Gen 2:7), so the trees, grass, and other plants grow by God’s good pleasure.

And, in his wisdom, God has called me to tend this space. I’m to work and keep what he’s entrusted to me (Gen 2:15), exercising dominion care in this small area. God asks me to labor and work so the land around me proclaims his glory.

Fall

In my flesh, I hate my yard. I am in the midst of a war, and I am losing.

I don’t enjoy cutting my grass, but that’s easy. It’s the weeding, pruning, planting, and tending I dislike. This is often difficult, unpleasant work.

This shouldn’t surprise me. The ground itself is cursed (Gen 3:17–19), and the weeds and thorns appear because of sin. The consequences of our rebellion spring from the ground, causing me pain (Gen 3:17). I sweat and ache as I beat back the thistles.

Redemption

Yes, the ground is cursed. But there’s more to the story. The weeds and thorns have only so much power.

Jesus walked on this ground, and that changed everything. The wind whipped dust against his face and he got mud between his toes. Though he had power over all the land, he died and was buried in the earth. But the ground could not hold him.

The entire creation is damaged and cursed. Jesus came to shatter the curse, to bring restoration and reconciliation and renewal far as the curse is found.

This begins with the people of God, the pinnacle of creation. But Jesus’ resurrection affects everything. The defeated enemy retreats, and the spoils of Christ’s victory will roll downhill and flood all of creation with new life.

Consummation

Under the curse, creation groans (Rom 8:22). It groans not just for redemption but for newness.

I groan. In Christ, I have new life. I have hope and the promise of God himself. But in the body I groan.

I age and ache and slump, but my body only tells part of the story. I grieve at my remaining sin. I see injustice and pain and grief and oppression and hate, not only in myself but in my community and throughout the world. I too long for newness.

And so we have a circle of sorts. I’m driven into my yard by newness—new growth to trim and new weeds to pull. But, if I’m thinking well, I spend more time dwelling on Jesus’ death and resurrection. He’s remaking me from the inside out, and he will fulfill the groan-filled longing of the creation as well.

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Heaven Is Not Vacation

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

We’ve all grappled with eternity. Whether groaning because of sin or looking forward to paradise, all Christians have pondered heaven. And one of the most mind-shattering realities of heaven is that it goes on forever. It doesn’t end.

We struggle with this concept because we are finite. We’re bound to time and everything we do and create has a beginning and an end.

We haven’t experienced eternity, so we learn mostly by contrast. Witness this statement from the apostle Peter (emphasis mine).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3–5)

Any inheritance we receive in this life is perishable, defiled, and fading, and Peter tells us the glory won for us by Christ is just the opposite.

The Last Day of Vacation

I was thinking of eternity and heaven on a recent vacation.

I’m always excited at the beginning of vacation—there’s so much promise, hope, and adventure ahead. But I get wistful toward the end. I try to soak up all the sights, sounds, and tastes one last time before I return to normal life.

On that last day of vacation, I need to remind myself—I’m still on vacation. I’m still away from my job, the never-ending yard work, and the unfinished home repairs that taunt me daily. But I feel a bit of sadness and finality on that last day. I try to make a few more memories, take a few more pictures, enjoy that last visit to the ice cream shop.

Heaven is Different

Since our time in the new heavens and new earth won’t end, we won’t have this last-day-of-vacation feeling. We won’t need to squeeze in a last roller coaster ride or grab just a couple more shells. We won’t experience that creeping regret that we could have made the trip a little better.

And the center of our whole heavenly experience is gloriously different than any vacation spot in the world. It will be wonderful to have new bodies, to be free from sin, and to see beloved friends and family. But if you read the book of Revelation, you know heaven is about God.

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:3–5)

The Lord will be our light, so night will never come. We won’t ever have to say goodbye and count down the days until next summer. We won’t wish we’d booked a different room or traveled a different week.

We will see his face, and we will worship him. How’s that for an every-day experience?!

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Links for the Weekend (2023-06-16)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

God Is Eager to Forgive You

Cindy Matson draws some good news for us about forgiveness from Isaiah 30.

It may not be so hard to believe that God will welcome you back with open arms. You’ve likely heard that parable enough times not to be surprised by it any longer. But maybe you find it a little too good to be true that He would actually want to listen to your prayers right away. Perhaps you think that you’ll be put on “prayer probation” during which you shouldn’t really expect God to answer any prayers.

5 Misconceptions about Heaven and Hell (and 5 Truths)

There are a lot of false ideas and bad teaching about the afterlife. This article from Crossway points us back to Biblical truth about heaven and hell.

As always, we want to counter false ideas about these doctrines with the truth of the Bible. The most common misconceptions about heaven and hell have to do with their nature and purpose. There are many false ideas about what they will be like and what will happen there, but the word of God gives us clear pictures in both cases.

What Is Pride?

This article gives a good explanation of pride and why we are called to repent of it.

 When God humbles the proud, it is an act of His grace. In that moment of emptiness, we have an opportunity to repent and yield to the work of the Spirit in our hearts. In doing so, we cast aside our crown, bow before the King, and submit to His lordship.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article written by Zack Wisniewski called Finding Hope in Slow Sanctification. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.