June 5 Care Group

Tonight we celebrated the end of our book and shared some blessings that God has been working in our lives.  We agreed that a summary of the main message of "The Greener Grass Conspiracy" Chapter 12 is - God wants us to be content here on earth, but true satisfaction will only come in heaven.  Below are the themes and questions we discussed:
-What do you know about heaven?  What do you look forward to in heaven?  What do the scriptures say about heaven?
-Jesus repeatedly said "My Father who is in heaven."  So heaven is where God is.  Jesus also repeatedly mentioned "the kingdom of heaven" so it is a place where there is a king.
-Phil 3:20 "our citizenship is in heaven" - Our true passport is stamped with heaven and someday we'll have glorified bodies and be undefiled with Him.
-The throng of heaven worships Jesus face to face there.
-We want to see our brethren who, here on earth are afflicted with pain and suffering, freed and rejoicing and dancing in heaven.
-The marriage supper of the Lamb will be awesome and we can't wait to eat that food!
-There will be no more sorrow, no more tears, the wretched suffering that we witness every day makes us long for heaven.
-A fulfillment of joy will be there when we see the release of suffering for all God's people.
-Can we imagine a "perfect" place?
-Perfect love is there, with nothing defiling it.
-Everything here is affected by sin, but there no sin will be influencing any part of our lives.
-Ps 16:11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  We know that in heaven we will have that fullness of joy and we can't even imagine the pleasures that God has in store for us.
-The book of John refers to "Life" 27 times.  Jesus talked about eternal life.  It's what He intended for us all along.  One day the glory of the Lord will cover the earth.  Jesus is our ultimate life.  He's so much bigger than we can imagine, like getting swallowed up by a tsunami.  Paul couldn't talk about what he saw in the 3rd heaven because it was so amazing.  So while we are still here we are subject to all kinds of trials and suffering.  We must long for heaven and stay focused on doing God's will until the final day.
-There are many specific details we don't know about heaven, yet we're given glimpses and tastes here on earth, beautiful landscapes, flowers, beaches...
-All the pleasures we experience here are marred by sin, but there they will be perfect.
-It's good to let our current situations and needs move us to pray for answers.  Also we can be aware that someday all those areas will be dealt with completely and forever in heaven.  It encourages us now to know that there is will be an end to every need and struggle for God's children.
-In this earthly body we groan and long for immortality and life in heaven.
-It will be wonderful to have His amazing loving open arms always there in front of us with no separation.
-We can appreciate our good days all the more because of bad days.  Our trials are a constant reminder of how needy we are and how much we cannot sustain ourselves.
-The creativity of God is seen in how many ways He inspires us to explore His creation here and work on aspects of His glorious works.  Heaven can only be a more focused opportunity to serve Him and express His glory.