Unclouded spiritual vision

In February of 1913 Benajah Harvey Carroll, Baptist preacher and president of Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, became seriously ill. Recovery seemed unlikely. During this time, his friends J. B. Cranfill and F. M. McConnell paid him a visit. During the visit, Carroll said the following words, which Cranfill published in The Baptist Standard. The words were later republished in other Baptist newspapers (below is quoted as published in Baptist and Reflector, Thursday, March 6, 1913, p. 9).

“Although I have suffered much and am still suffering greatly, my spiritual vision was never as unclouded as it is today. I know that Jesus is mine. Death has no terrors for me. I do not fear the river of death. When I shall press my feet up its shores the waters will divide, and I will go over dry shod. I know that God’s Book is true, that heaven is real, that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer and that He will welcome me into the Father’s house on high.”

Bad though it was, Carroll recovered from this illness. He did not die until over a year and a half later – November 1914. Nevertheless, his thoughts on the Bible, heaven, and Jesus were a blessing to many. Furthermore, these thoughts on the Bible, heaven, Jesus did not change between February 1913 and November 1914.

One Race

The Bible’s teaching on “race” is simple. Someone has said three fundamental truths about it are that we are (1) one in creation; (2) one in the church; and (3) one in eternity. Notice the following biblical texts.

One in creation

• Genesis 1:26-27. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
• Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
• Acts 17:26-28. and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
• Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?

One in the church

• John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
• Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 2:19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
• Colossians 3:11. where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

One in eternity

• Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
• Revelation 7:9. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
• Revelation 21:22-26 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

Today in Paradise

In answer to a dying thief’s request, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom,” “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). This statement speaks to us these following truths.

Present day

“To day” – This would not happen tomorrow or some indefinite undisclosed time in the future. On this day of their deaths, they would be in paradise. Death, for the Christian, ushers one into the presence of God (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; cf. also Ecclesiastes 12:7; Luke 16:22; Romans 14:8).

Definite Promise

“shalt be” – This is an accurate prophecy, a positive promise, with an unquestionable result. The fulfillment hinges on their deaths happening that day. Were the two left on the cross to die the next day, the promise would not have been fulfilled. Jesus not only controlled the dismissal of his spirit, but all the events of his arrest, sentencing, and crucifixion (John 18:6; John 19:11; John 19:30; Acts 4:27-28).

Particular person

“thou” – The promise was to this man in particular, but for example, not to the other thief (cf. also, “I say unto thee…” Universal salvation is a hopeless hope, the pipe dream of the biblically uninitiated. God’s people will dwell with him in eternal glory while others are cast from his presence (Revelation 20:15-21:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16; John 6:37; Matthew 1:21).

Divine presence

“with me” – The promise is to dwell with Jesus, be in his presence. Wherever Jesus is, ’tis heaven! Jesus said, “that where I am ye may be also” (John 14:3). He will never leave us or forsake us, neither in life nor in death (Isaiah 41:10; Hebrews 13:5). Things we do not understand of heaven and eternity fade into the background by the dear words “be with me.” May we desire to live where Jesus lives. If he is in the garden, we should want to be be there. If he is in the wilderness, we should want to be there. If he is in the valley or on the mountaintop, we want to be there. It does not matter – where Jesus is – that is the place to be!” On land or sea, what matters where? Where Jesus is, ’tis Heaven there.”[i]

Beautiful place

“in paradise” – Paradise (Gk. paradeisos) derives from a Persian word with the idea of a beautiful garden or park.[ii] It is used in three verses in the New Testament (Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:4, and Revelation 2:7. With Revelation 2:7, cf. Revelation 22:2; the tree of life is in paradise and in the New Jerusalem). His people will behold the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4), worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:2), and dwell eternally in a gloriously beautiful place (Psalm 48:2; Revelation 22:1-5).

Luke 23:42-43 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

---

[i] Hymn by Charles F. Butler, circa 1898.

[ii] In the Septuagint, the Greek word παράδεισος was used to translate Hebrew words for “garden” (see, e.g. Genesis 2:8; Numbers 24:6 ; Ezekiel 28:13).

Where Jesus Is

In or before 1898, Charles F. Butler and James M. Black wrote Where Jesus is, ’Tis Heaven, which first appeared in The Chorus of Praise for use in Sunday Schools, Young People’s Meetings, Revivals, Prayer Meetings, and All the Social Services of the Church (J. M. Black, editor, New York, NY: Eaton & Mains, 1898). Charles F. Butler wrote the words, and James Milton Black wrote the music. The song has appeared in many hymnals since. That Jesus makes heaven what/where it is remains a popular idea among believing Christians.

The author the words is unknown to this writer.[i] The Chorus of Praise has “C. F. Butler” in 1898, but in other books the hymn is variously credited to C. M. Butler and C. J. Butler – even B. F. Butler. James Milton Black is a well-known composer and songbook editor. He was born in South Hill, New York in 1856, but spent most of his life in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He served at the Methodist Episcopal Church as a Sunday School teacher. Black died in 1938. He and his wife are buried at the Wildwood Cemetery in Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Probably his best known song is When The Roll Is Call Up Yonder.

1. Since Christ my soul from sin set free,

This world has been a heav’n to me;

And ’mid earth’s sorrows and its woe,

’Tis heav’n my Jesus here to know.

2. Once heaven seemed a far-off place,

Till Jesus showed His smiling face;

Now it’s begun within my soul,

’Twill last while endless ages roll.

3. What matters where on earth we dwell?

On mountain top, or in the dell?

In cottage, or a mansion fair,

Where Jesus is, ’tis heaven there.

Chorus:

O hallelujah, yes, ’tis heav’n,

’Tis heav’n to know my sins forgiv’n;

On land or sea, what matters where,

Where Jesus is, ’tis heaven there.

Soul Stirring Songs (1918, John T. Benson) has a 4th stanza by R. E. W. (apparently Robert Emmett Winsett, 1876-1952)

4. When I have Christ within my soul,

And by his blood cleansed and made whole,

There’s peace and joy beyond compare,

With Christ, my Lord, ’tis heaven there.

---

[i] He Saves to the Uttermost, which begins “I was once far away from the Savior,” is credited to C. J. Butler, but also to Chas. I. Butler. I do not know whether this is the same person.

The Intermediate State

The intermediate state: What happens in the time between physical death and physical resurrection?

In theological terms this time or period between physical death and physical resurrection is often referred to as “the intermediate state” – though as a term that is not found in the Bible. According to Dictionary.com, intermediate means being situated between two points, stages, things, persons, etc. State means the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes. For purposes of biblical discussion, the “intermediate state” is the time and nature of existence of a believer between his or her death on earth and the bodily resurrection. The intermediate state refers to a person's existence between his physical death and his future resurrection.

The intermediate state encompasses the following biblical truths:

• Believers will experience a resurrection of the body.
• Believers die physically before the time of the future resurrection.
• Believers will exist “in between” these two points in time.

Most Bible-believers agree on the general concept of an intermediate state, but may have many questions of how born again believers exist during that time, that is, this intermediate state. Where will they be? What will they look like? What will they do? God’s word is not explicit on the matter, leaving the focus of the believer elsewhere. Yet his word does give us basic information that satisfies our curiosity and assures us that the deceased ones in Christ have an existence that is pure and secure.

Where are the saints?

They are with God. When the body returns back to the earth, the spirit returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Death, for the Christian, is a departure from the body and ushering in to the presence of our Lord (Philippians 1:23). Jesus promised the repentant thief on the cross “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). When he was stoned to death, Stephen expected the Lord Jesus to “receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). To be absent from the mortal body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

What is the nature of the saints existence?

The saints in this intermediate state do not yet have their resurrected bodies, and are not in their mortal bodies. They are “disembodied” – absent from the body, the spirit removed from the mortal dress as the person might be in a state of undress – Paul says “naked” that is, without the mortal body (2 Corinthians 5:3-4).[i] The saints in the intermediate state are not asleep or unconscious,[ii] but remain conscious. The conscious state of the disembodied saints suggests a “body” of some kind – probably a figure of speech necessary for human compression. In Luke 16:19-30 Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man are all identifiable in their own persons.[iii] They are described as sentient beings, seeing (v. 23), hearing (vv. 24-30), speaking (v. 24), and feeling (vv. 24-25), with eyes (v. 23) and fingers (v. 24). The description of the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-11 is of “souls.” These souls were conscious, had memory of past events on earth, and cried to the Lord “with a loud voice.”

What do the saints know, and what are they doing?

Do those who are already in heaven know what is happening on earth? Saints in heaven are not sitting around watching the goings-on of earth as if it were some popular television show. Hebrews 12:1 says we are “compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.” This has been interpreted as if deceased saints were “leaning over a cloud” watching everything we do. However, that takes the verse out of context. This statement refers, rather, back to the witnesses’ testimony left to us on earth by the saints highlighted in Hebrews 11.

Nevertheless, the Bible reveals the saints presently in heaven have some knowledge of things on earth. Those in the intermediate state see and/or know about things that are happening on the earth – at least those things that God wants them to know. In fact, how could God exert sovereign rule over all the earth and his saints who are with him in heaven not have some knowledge of it? Saints in heaven rejoice over repenting sinners, according to Jesus in Luke 15:7, 10: I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. In heaven they are advised of the fall of Babylon the great, and rejoice (Revelation 18:20). Those in the intermediate state praise and extol the mighty works of God, as in Revelation 19:1-4: “I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand...Alleluia.” Those in the intermediate state seek God’s just resolution of sin and evil (Revelation 6:9-10). They eagerly await the resurrection and gathering of all saints (2 Corinthians 5:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16). Death is a “gain” and “far better” – they are happy and at rest (Philippians 1:21-23; Revelation 14:13).

Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

---

[i] Hymn III of Charles Wesley’s Funeral Hymns, of 1759 uses the term “disembodied saints.” “And let this feeble body fail, And let it droop, or die, My soul shall quit the mournful vale, And soar to worlds on high: Shall join the disembodied saints, And find its long sought rest, (That only bliss for which it pants) In my Redeemer’s breast.”

[ii] The sleep is the sleep of the mortal body, not the spirit (1 Corinthians 15:50-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15).

[iii] That is, they knew each other.

A city yet to come

Hymn below by Horatius Bonar, found in The Bible Hymn-Book, 1845, No. CCLX with the text heading “We seek one to come.”—Heb. xiii. 14 (p. 330). The meter is 8s.7s. The tune I know (and like) with this hymn is Rest Beyond by Anthony Johnson Showalter. I am not sure when it was first published.

1. This is not my place of resting,
Mine’s a city yet to come;
Onward to it I am hasting,—
On to my eternal home.

2. In it all is light and glory,
O’er it shines a nightless day;
Every trace of sin’s sad story,—
All the curse has passed away.

3. There the Lamb, our Shepherd, leads us
By the streams of life along;
On the freshest pastures feeds us,
Turns our sighing into song.

4. Soon we pass this desert dreary,
Soon we bid farewell to pain;
Never more be sad and weary,
Never, never sin again.

The only place I found the hymn text sung on YouTube is HERE (not Showalter’s tune). Some printings of this hymn provide a refrain, which is from neither Bonar nor Showalter, such as J. J. Jelley in Pearls of Praise (Bluffton, OH: Amstutz Music Co., 1893, No. 35)

Refrain:
Beautiful home, oh, may we come
Safe to its fields of fadeless day;
Where every trace of sin’s dark story,
All the curse hath passed away.

The way is short

Below is an almost unreadable epitaph on a tombstone at the Isabell (Isbell) Chapel Cemetery at Sand Hill, Rusk County, Texas. The name on the tombstone is no longer visible.

The way is short, my friend,

That reaches out before us,

God’s tender heavens above us bend,

His love is smiling o’er us.

A little while is ours,

For sorrow or for laughter;

I’ll lay the hand you love in yours,

On the shore of the hereafter.

When I searched online to see if I had deciphered the reading correctly, I found it was part of a poem written by Mary Clemmer. The first four lines are on the stone at Isabell Chapel, and I found the four lines that come after.

Marching to Glory

The hymn “Marching to Glory” below is from The Minstrel of Zion (by Hunter and Wakefield), p. 55, originally with sixteen stanzas.

Our kindred dear to heaven have gone: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

They landed safe—we’ll follow on: to meet our friends in glory.

Chorus:

We’re marching to glory! (We’re marching to glory)

We’re marching to glory! To meet our friends in glory!

We’re on our way to paradise, to meet our friends in glory.

Like us they had their cares and fears: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

Like us they shed affliction’s tears: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

Safe housed in their eternal home: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

They wait till we with songs shall come: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

How happy they, from sorrow free: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

And such our happiness shall be: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

What harps of gold they all employ: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

Such harps our hands shall strike with joy: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

What notes divine are on their tongues: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

And raise with them our rapturous songs: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

Though rough the way ‘twill soon be past: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

And share their blissful home at last: We’ll meet our friends in glory.

More "heaven tourism"

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• 4 Reasons to Stop Obsessing about Heaven -- "His admission left me wondering why heavenly tourism gets so much attention. Christians might be less obsessed with heaven if we better grasped four things."
• Despite Warning Signs, Tyndale House Published a Pocket Edition of The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven in 2014 -- "The publication date is over two years after they became aware that Alex posted his comments about the deceptive nature of the book on a Facebook fan page for the book."
• Fabricated: 'I did not go to heaven' -- "Anytime you step away from the clear, revelatory, propositional statements of Scripture into your own experience, then you open yourself to every kind of weird existential idea out there."
• More Reasons Tyndale House Should Have Investigated Obvious Problems with The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven -- "...Tyndale’s process from the beginning was flawed."
• This Map Reveals Just How Unequal The So-Called Recovery Is -- "Over this period, the average income of the bottom 99 percent in the United States actually fell (by 0.4 percent)..."
• Tyndale House Publishers Knew the Malarkey Book Was a Fraud -- "For the record, Tyndale House Publishers knew full well more than two years ago that Kevin Malarkey's book contained fabricated stories..."

A Home in Heaven

I heard the following letter referenced on the radio this morning, and was impressed by it. The circumstances of the letter are this. John Todd was born in Rutland, Vermont, October 9, 1800. His parents afterward moved to Killingworth, Connecticut. When he was only six years old his father died. His mother, suffering from mental illness, was unable to care for the seven children. John went to live in North Killingworth with his father's youngest sister, Matilda Hamilton. When his aunt became seriously ill and expected to die, she wrote her nephew John -- now a Congregationalist minister -- about death. Below is the reply that John Todd sent his aunt Matilda Hamilton.

MY DEAR AUNT,--I am sorry to hear that you are feeble, perhaps I should say sick, and even that there is fear on your part that you are not to be better in this world. I am afraid that I shall make but a poor comforter in these circumstances, and yet I know there are waters enough in the wells of salvation, if I only knew how to draw them up. You send me word that you would be glad to see me, and, if possible, I shall come; but I am so situated by sicknesses that it may not be in my power. You also tell me that your life looks barren and dreary, and that you tremble at the coming of death. I am not going to try to cheer you by telling what you have done for the Master during your past life. But I want you to recall once circumstance, for the sake of illustrating what I want to say.

You remember that it is now thirty-five years since my father died, and left me, a little boy six years old, without a mother, without a home, and with nobody to care for me. It was then that you sent me word that you would take me and give me a home, and be as a mother to me. Everybody said, 'It's very kind in her to do that.' But I was too young to realize anything of that nature. It seemed to me a perfectly natural thing that you should do so. I wondered what kind of a house you lived in, and whether you had chickens and hens. At length the day was set when I was to go to you, ten miles off. What a long journey it seemed to me! And I well remember how disappointed I was that, instead of coming for me yourself, you sent old Caesar, the great, fat, black man to bring me to you. How my heart sunk within me when he came, and I was told that I was to ride on the horse behind him, sitting on the blanket! But he told me that 'old Kate was very gentle to little boys,' and that you said I might bring Echo, my little dog, with me. So we set out, just before night. Caesar took my bundle of clothing before him, and me behind him, and Echo ran beside us. But before long, before we got to your house, I began to feel tired. My legs ached, and I was tired of taking hold of Caesar. By-and-by the evening and the darkness came on, and I felt afraid; then we had a long piece of woods to go through. I had heard of bears and tigers and Indians, and did not know how many might be in the woods. Caesar, too, was so dark that I could not see him, and he jogged on without saying a word. He had no idea that I was afraid.

'Caesar, ain't we most there?' said I, in my terror.

'Yes, when we have got through these woods we shall see the candle in the house.' 

'Won't they be gone to bed? for it seemed to me it must be nearly morning. 

'Oh, no, they will be all ready to receive us.' 

But I trembled, and the tears ran down my face, and I wondered why I could not have somebody with me besides black Caesar.

But at last, after winding and turning, and going uphill and downhill, a long, long way, as it seemed to me, we came out of the woods, and then the stars shone; and I was told which light was in your house. And when we got there you came out, and gently took me in your arms as Caesar handed me down; and you called me your 'poor little boy,' and you led me gently in; and there was a blazing, warm fire, the bright light, and the table spread, and the supper all waiting for me! And that was my home! My eyes now fill with tears as I think it over. How you soothed me, and warmed me, and put me to bed in the strange room, and heard me say my prayers, and staid with me till I was fast asleep.

 

And now, my dear aunt, you see why I have recalled all this to your memory. Your heavenly Father will send for you--a dark messenger, it may be. And he will be your conductor, and carry you safely through the darkness of the way. He will not drop nor leave you, for he is a faithful servant. You need not feel afraid, for he knows the way, and will take you directly to your home. There the door will be open, and your dearest friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, will meet you and take you in, and the supper will be waiting, and the fires of love burning, and the light and glory of his presence all seen. What a welcome you will receive! And, perhaps, the memory of what you did for me will come back upon you, bringing waves of pure joy. At any rate, don't fear the dark passage, nor the dark messenger. Receive it all as the little child did, and you will find the home. My prayers will be for you till you are out of sight, and then I will look forward to meeting you again.

Ever, ever yours, most gratefully,JOHN TODD.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints” 

Psalm 116:15

Note: I have seen several versions of "this letter" online, but the above is transcribed as recorded in John Todd: The Story of His Life Told Mainly by Himself (Edited by John E. Todd, New York, NY: Harper & Brothers: 1876 pp. 35-37). Some versions give evidence of simply being told from memory by someone else, and some may have been attempts to edit out certain comments and downsize the letter for effect. I have chosen to post what I believe to be the original endorsed by Todd himself.

Open Letter, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back From Heaven

Posted with permission from J. D. Hall at PulpitAndPen.Org.

“An Open Letter to Lifeway and Other Sellers, Buyers, and Marketers of Heaven Tourism, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back From Heaven.”

Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short.

I did not die. I did not go to Heaven.

I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.

It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins (even though he committed none of his own) so that you can be forgiven may you learn of Heaven outside of what is written in the Bible…not by reading a work of man. I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient. Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough.

In Christ,Alex Malarkey.

* Is peddling malarkey and making money more important than the truth?
* Heaven Tourism

Is peddling malarkey and making money more important

...than the truth?

* The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life beyond This World (A True Story) by Kevin Malarkey (Published by Tyndale House in 2010) 

"In 2004, Kevin Malarkey and his six-year-old son, Alex, suffered an horrific car accident. The impact from the crash paralyzed Alex—and medically speaking, it was unlikely that he could survive. “I think that Alex has gone to be with Jesus,” a friend told the stricken dad. But two months later, Alex awoke from a coma with an incredible story to share. Of events at the accident scene and in the hospital while he was unconscious. Of the angels who took him through the gates of heaven itself."

The publisher has announced that it will take this book out of print, and the Southern Baptist's LifeWay Resources have vowed to quit selling the book.

In a Christian Post story on the 15th Martin King, LifeWay director of communications stated, "LifeWay was informed this week that Alex Marlarkey has retracted his testimony about visiting heaven as told in the book The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven. Therefore, we are returning to the publisher the few copies we have in our stores."

Based on e-mails and Twitter time stamps it seems that Thom Rainer (president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources) and Ed Stetzer (Executive Director of LifeWay Research) knew about this problem much much before this week -- at least by early December 2014 and probably as early as April or May 2014. Beth Malarkey, Alex's mother wrote The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven...not quite on April 20, 2014, stating, "Alex's name and identity are being used against his wishes..."

This makes it look like peddling this book was more important to the LifeWay than buying the truth, and that they are now trying to cover their tracks. Shame if it is so.

* Malarkey: speech or writing designed to obscure, mislead, or impress (dictionary.com)
* The explanation of the time difference might be that LifeWay was not informed by Alex Malarkey personally of his change of heart until this week. IOW, they had heard it from second-hand sources and not the author himself. Nevertheless, I have not heard or read LifeWay give this explanation. Whether it is this or something else, they should make it clear.

The God of Noses

Bart Barber posted over at SBC Voices the following lyrics by Rich Mullins.* I liked the beginning of the text, which points to a future Utopia that is more real than all the Utopias men hope to find here on earth.

 I believe there is a place
 Where people live in perfect peace
 Where there is food on every plate
 Where work is rewarded and rest is sweet
 Where the color of your skin
 Won't get you in or keep you out
 Where justice reigns and truth finally wins
 Its hard fought war against fear and doubt.

Won't it be wonderful there, having no burdens to bear?

*The entire text can be found there and other places.

An archbishop picks his heaven

Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently said, "I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place...I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this." -- Archbishop Tutu 'would not worship a homophobic God'

I read this a few days ago and immediately thought:

1. God is not homophobic. God does not have an irrational fear of homosexuals, neither is He prejudiced nor does He discriminate. Whether this is a sin or not is an entirely different question. 

2. God is God. God is the creator and we are the created. We do not get to decide who God is and then worship the God on whom we decided, nor do we decide "which heaven" we will go to. God is either the I AM or He isn't at all.

Saints of God preserved by the Grace of God

A few things that convince me that saints of God are preserved by the Grace of God:

1. The Power of God, which is the greatest power (John 10:28-29; I Peter 1:5; Jude 24)
2. The Love of God, which is beyond measure (Rom. 8:28; John 3:16; Eph. 3:18.19)
3. The Immutability of God - He will never change; not His love; not His power; etc. (e.g. Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8)
4. The Sufficiency of the shed Blood of Christ (I John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; John 1:29)
5. The Guarantee (Earnest) of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; II Cor. 1:22)
6. The Intercession of Jesus Christ (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34)
7. The Predestination of God (Eph. 1:11; Rom. 8:29-39)

There is a song I like that always make me think of preservation by the Grace of God -
No Vacant Seats in Heaven by Mrs. J. B. Edwards (found in The Harp of Ages). Here is the first verse and chorus:

Our hearts are filled with sorrow,
When Jesus calls to claim His own;
A seat is then left vacant,
Yes, vacant in our earthly home.

No vacant seats in Heaven -
No vacant seats around God's throne;
Up there 'tis joy and gladness,
Oh, gloryland, sweet heavenly home.
There will be no vacant seat in Heaven. If God has prepared a seat there, it will be filled not vacant. If it is filled, it will never become vacant at some future time, either.