Hello! I hope and pray that these resources will help you in your prayers, give you more focus about your life’s purpose, and also encourage you too. With love and prayers from your “librarian”.
1. This message about a “glimpse of life in heaven” is from Jesus’ teaching documented in Luke 20.
This sermon’s title drew me in since I recently went to a funeral of Howard’s best friend’s mom. She lived an abundant and full life, loved by her family and many community members since she was a good, fearless leader in public education. She even sued the state once when at that time, many women teachers went being pushed out of their jobs once pregnant. She sued the state and won! She had many other accolades in her fight for teacher’s and women’s rights. She was a devout Protestant being an active member and servant of her local church in Long Island for nearly 50 years. She passed away at age 83 after four years of battling cancer.
Her funeral was packed with many people who came out to support the family members and even being live-streamed according to her wishes. Her pastor and family members kept mentioning how she gave clear instructions about her funeral service. It seemed that she was not a shy person but a confident woman who spoke her mind clearly. With all the time that she had to contemplate about the afterlife, I was surprised that she did not leave instructions during the funeral on how one can get into heaven. I know it’s an unpopular subject since Christians appear very narrow-minded when we share that Jesus is the only way to heaven. But please study this subject matter if you are not absolutely convinced and certain. It’s super important. And also if you have an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and point people to how one can get into heaven, please do. This funeral could have been an excellent evangelistic moment with so many people in attendance, including Howard and his parents. I don’t condemn her, perhaps she wasn’t fully convinced herself about Jesus’ teachings on the way to get into heaven. It was shared that she attended her church’s bible study regularly. Perhaps it’s this church’s pastor who doesn’t believe this theology and therefore does not preach it. I don’t know the reasons but I resolved that if I have an opportunity to plan my own funeral then I will definitely make sure everyone in my funeral will hear Jesus’ teaching about the afterlife and how to get into heaven. Besides, who cares if I offend anyone since I’ll be long gone.
Recently I turned 50. Please don’t buy the world’s marketing that 50 is the new 40. Reality is I have on average 30-35 more years left in my body if accident or disease doesn’t take me sooner. Let’s do the best that we can to share the good news of Jesus Christ to our family members and friends when given an opportunity. So far the family members, friends and neighbors that I shared it with have not turned away from me.
My immediate, non-believing family members have also heard me share the way into heaven several times. Now they just get mad if I share more, so please be mindful around them if you encounter them. As you can see I have not been a very convincing evangelist. Oh well, I try. Let’s not give up in our prayers and believing for our family member’s salvation. Hell is a real place too and a very horrific, terrible place according to eye-witnesses who have been there for a short time. Just like there are those who have visited heaven in their near death experiences; there are many people who have also visited hell and warn others now. God is good and faithful. It is His will that our family members and friends get saved so He has to answer this persistent prayers of ours somehow!
2. Listen to ‘You Can’t Build Community In Crisis’ by Sallie Guillory
http://sermons.tsc.nyc/you-cant-build-community-in-crisis/
This message is very good too. I hope after listening you will understand why it is so important to build your faith community during times of rest and peace in your life. Today I tell young moms to build up their faith, strengthen their marriage and surround yourself with a good faith community of believers before your eldest turn 10 years old. It’ll be a roller coaster ride for the next 10-15 years per child. It appears that the storms usually subside by their mid-20s in our local demographics of parents that I talk to.
3. Here is a good message by pastor Andy Stanley (Dr. Charles Stanley’s son). It’s about our reactions as believers to injustice, unfair treatments, disappointments, etc. He shares his good advice from the teachings of Jesus. I get angry and upset oftentimes. My reactions are so much better than 12 years ago but since our world has gotten much more difficult and also having teenagers right now make it so much harder than 12 years ago, like an athlete I feel like I am asked to step up more to meet the higher level of demands. I’m so glad that I have learned a lot about monitoring my reactions to injury and self-controlling my anger. I am still very far away from where I’d would like to be but I am so much better than where I was 12 years ago. And I thank God for this. Without learning to control my reactions when my children were younger, I think parenting them right now could have been disastrous. Looking back I see that God used and continue to use relationships and situations to scratch off the abrasive, rebellious and stubborn sides of me.
This is a very good short devotional about the importance of our role in a marriage. If you want to do a deeper bible study about your role as a wife, I highly recommend Stormie O’Martian’s book “The Power of the Praying Wife”. I’ve read and prayed her book several times in the last 12 years. Her advice and thoughts are biblical, and prayer chapters are powerful. https://www.worldchallenge.org/devotion/love-begins-home
4. I was so touched to see the courage and love of Ukrainian Christians in the midst of their great pain and suffering. Please watch this documentary video by Billy Graham Association so we will remember to keep praying for Ukraine and the end of the war. They are in day 150 of this war. I only know this since I get prayer request send daily by the Intercessors for Ukraine.
5. I never heard about these two revivals. It was super encouraging to watch both. One revival was in a christian college in Kentucky in 1970. Other was a revival in North Korea in 1907 (that explained a lot of things to me as a Korean). Both are excellent to watch to increase your expectations and to keep on praying for a revival in our country and churches. Like I always say, it’s a game changer.
6. I really respect all the teachings by pastor RT Kendall. I liked how he explained the counterfeit spiritual experience as a “pigeon” while the real Holy Spirit experience as a “dove”. You have to listen to him. I really believe that revival is going to happen in our local churches and so we really should educate ourselves beforehand about the counterfeit verses real Holy Spirit experiences.
Journal of Faith 