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Light for the Journey                                                                         Online Bible Study
Lesson 1                                                                                                             10.06.08 
 

 Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.

       A Glimpse of Heaven

 

Welcome to Light for the Journey!
 
We are on the same journey.  Sometimes the road seems dark, the directions confusing and the destination questionable.  Light for the Journey is an online bible study that exists to bring the light of God's Word into the darkest places of your heart and equip you to apply the power of God's truth in your daily life.  
 
I
 am very excited about this new series, A Glimpse of Heaven.  Several years ago, I lost three very special people in my life.  All three were believers and I was certain I would see them again one day in heaven.  Then the thought hit me that I knew very little about the place where I would be reunited with friends and family.  I had never really thought about the details of heaven before but the fact that friends and family were waiting for me there peaked my interest.  This study is the result.  The more I learned about heaven, the more excited I became about going there.   A Glimpse of Heaven not only changed my perspective of heaven itself, but brought new meaning and perspective to my daily life.  I pray God uses this study to change your life as well. 
 
Need Prayer?  We have an awesome team of women who are prayer warriors and love to pray!  Simply email your prayer requests to Ginger Meador, our Prayer Team Director, and she will call the prayer team into action! gjmeador@comcast.net
 
Here's the Plan:  Light for the Journey can be completed in one day or over a period of five days ... or even ten days - whatever best fits your schedule.  Each day is numbered (ie: Day 1.  Facts for the Journey).  After completing each day's assignment, proceed to the next day.
 
Also included are several "extra" sections such as Joy for the Journey, Let's Talk About It, 
and Resource of the Week.  From time to time, you will also receive special announcements from Mary, coupons for the online store, etc.  Below is a brief explanation of each section.
 
Mind-Set for the Journey: choose to discard distractions and focus on this special time with God
Facts for the Journey:  study the main biblical facts and principles of the lesson
Prayer for the Journey: learn how to pray simply, effectively, powerfully
Steps for the Journey:  make a specific plan to put feet to or apply the truths you have learned 
Truth for the Journey:  pinpoint the one truth that stood out and impacted you most this week
Power for the Journey:  memorize one power verse each day  
Curious woman
Mindset for the Journey 
 
Pray, thanking God for His written Word.  Ask Him to reveal the unique message He has for you in the primary passage of Scripture for each study.  Read the mindset passage 2 or 3 times. Make the deliberate choice to fix your thoughts on each word and each phrase as you read it. Don't let your mind wander.  Focus only on God's truth and let everything else fall away. Your mind is set and you are ready to begin.
 
Philippians 3:20  But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven.
Woman thinkingDay 1. Facts for the Journey 
 
A little girl was taking a walk with her father one night.  In the rural area where they lived, there were no neon signs or street lights to disturb the beauty of the night.  The little girl looked up into the star-filled skies and in an awe-filled voice said, "Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, I wonder what the right side looks like!"
                     
We are all like that little girl in that we wonder what heaven is like - especially when we have a loved one who has died and gone to heaven. As followers of Christ, we naturally want to know what heaven is like for several reasons:
 
1.  Our citizenship is in heaven.

Luke 10:20 Rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven.
 
When we come to Christ, surrendering our life to Him, our citizenship is immediately changed from earth to heaven.  This world is not our home.
 
An American tourist who paid a visit to a renowned Polish rabbi was astonished to see the sparse and simple living conditions of such a well-known man.  In fact, the rabbi's home was only a simple room filled with books, a table and a cot. The tourist asked, "Rabbi, where is your furniture?" The rabbi replied, "Where is yours?"  The puzzled American asked, "Mine? But I'm only a visitor here. I'm only passing through." The rabbi smiled and replied, "So am I."                 
 
2.  Our treasures are stored in heaven.
 
Matthew 6:20 But store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them.
 
It is so easy to get caught up in the trap of living life here, bent on storing up what man considers to be the treasures of this world. In the light of eternity, those earthly treasures are only stuff and certainly not eternal. They will not last and are only temporary. 

I heard the story of a man who died and went to heaven.  As Peter was showing him around, the man saw several stunning mansions and grew more and more excited about seeing his own mansion.  Peter stopped suddenly and point to a small shack and said, "This is your home."  Stunned, the man blurted out, "Why is mine so small and plain while all of the others are so large and beautiful?"  With a shrug, Peter said, "We used what you sent ahead."  Heaven is a place where the treasures are valuable and eternal.  

3.  Heaven is our eternal home. 
 
John 14:2  There are many rooms in my Father's house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 
 
4.  Heaven is the home of God. 

Isaiah 63:15 LORD, look down from the heavens and see; look at us from your wonderful and holy home in heaven. 
 
5.  Heaven is our certain hope.

Colossians 1:5  You have this faith and love because of your hope, and what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven.
 
For the believer, heaven is the heart and soul of faith. It is a reality. For the unbeliever, heaven is a dream and desperate hope. We all want to go there - some day.
 
A pastor was speaking about heaven, about eternal bliss and the joys that are waiting for every believer on "the other side."  He paused for effect and asked,  "How many of you here want to go to heaven?"  Every hand immediately shot up - except for an eight-year-old boy sitting in the front row.  Puzzled, the minister asked, "Son, don't you want to go to heaven, too? 
The boy eagerly replied, "Yes!  But I thought you were making up a load to go right now."
 
I have heard it said that everyone wants to go to heaven, but no none wants to die to get there.  I believe that much of our fear of heaven comes from our ignorance about heaven.  We have a lot of questions about heaven but very few solid answers!  That's what this study is all about; it is built around several basic questions about heaven:
  • Does heaven really exist?
  • What is heaven like?
  • Who will be in heaven?
  • What will we do in heaven?
  • What relationships will we have in heaven?
  • What will my new body be like?
  • How do we get to heaven?

Over the next few weeks, we will find the answers to these questions and more as, together, we get a glimpse of heaven!

Praying WomanDay 2.  Prayer for the Journey
 
Would you like your prayers to be more powerful?
 
Pray the Scriptures. Hebrews 4:12 says that God's Word is alive and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword. When we speak and pray the Scriptures, we are coming into agreement with God, and His power is released to answer our prayers.

Do you feel that God doesn't hear your prayers? Or maybe you don't know what to pray for in certain situations. Not only does He hear our prayers, but He also promises to answer them when we pray in line with His will. Start by praying these promises from God:
 
Jeremiah 1:12  I am ready to perform My Word.

John 16:24  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Jeremiah 33:3  Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things...

John 15:7  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
 
Matthew 18:19  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

Jeremiah 29:12  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Isaiah 65:24  It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are speaking I will hear.

Smiling womanDay 3.  Steps for the Journey 

Create a new section in your journal for this study of heaven.   

Read the following thoughts about heaven from one unknown writer:  
 
Heaven in the New Testament bears little relation to the meanings we have so unscripturally attached to it. For us, heaven is an unearthly, humanly irrelevant condition in which bed-sheeted, paper-winged spirits sit on clouds and play tinkly music until their pipe-cleaner halos drop off from boredom.
 
But in Scripture, it is a city with boys and girls playing in the streets; it is buildings put up by a Department of Public Works that uses amethysts for cinder blocks and pearls as big as the Ritz for gates; and indoors, it is a dinner party to end all dinner parties at the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is, in short, earth wedded, not earth jilted. It is the world as the irremovable apple of God's eye.         
 
On the first page of the new journal section, write several thoughts and perspectives of heaven as you understand it today.
 
Do you think heaven is real?
Will we be angels in heaven?
How can you know for sure that you are going to heaven?
 
Be honest.  Record your doubts, then write them down along with any questions or beliefs about heaven. 
 
Be sure to date this entry.
Day 4. Truth for the journey
 
I encourage you to become a "One Truth Seeker." Every time we hear or read the Word of God, we are responsible to respond to that truth. I often try so hard to get every point from the message or lesson that I come away feeling as if I heard a lot, but don't have a clue what to do with it. Sound familiar?
 
Sensing my frustration, my husband, Dan, suggested that I focus on hearing that one specific truth God has for me in every message, lesson, devotional, or song from Him. So I became a "One Truth Seeker."
 
Now I pray, asking God to "nudge" me with my one new truth. He always does. I am learning how to be a more focused listener and hopefully, a more obedient student of the Word.. 
 
In your journal, create a section for new truths.  As God speaks to you, jot that thought down and date it. Once a week, go back over the truths you have recorded and praise God for His great faithfulness to guide and direct your paths.
Oriental womanDay 5.  Power for the Journey
 
God's Word is our greatest source of power and strength for living. 
 
Listed below are five verses.  Memorize one verse each day.  Create a section in your journal for Power Verses and record each one or the ones that really impacted your life.
 
1 Chronicles 16:31  Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!" 
 
2 Chronicles 7:14  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
 
Psalm 103:19  The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 

Psalm 121:2  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Philippians 2:9-11 

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
All verses from New International Version 
Joy for the Journey
 
 I was listening to a lady who called a radio pastor. The pastor was a wise, grandfatherly gentleman who had that calm reassuring voice that could melt all fear. The lady, who was obviously crying, said, "Pastor, I was born blind, and I've been blind all my life. I don't mind being blind but I have some well-meaning friends who tell me that if I had more faith I could be healed." The pastor asked her, "Tell me, do you carry one of those white canes?" "Yes I do," she replied. "Then the next time someone says that, hit them over the head with the cane," he said. "Then tell them, 'If you had more faith that wouldn't hurt!'"

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MP3 Downloads now available

 We have just added MP3 download files to our store!

Some MP3s are of the current CDs offered online but there are also some new messages such as:  
  • In His Eyes
  • Conquering Jealousy
  • Experiencing God
  • God's Chosen Woman
  • The Powerful Woman  
And there are more to come! 
 
We will be adding new MP3s from time to time.  Stay tuned!

 
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Hope in the Midst of Depression
Smaller cover HIMD
 
When I first read the title of Mary's book, Hope in the Midst of Depression, I assumed it was only for those who are depressed.  I didn't have to read very far to realize it is much more than that. This book is a manual for life and will equip you to live in victory over any kind of darkness.  Cammy S.
 
Bio photoLet's Talk About it!
 
Q.  One of your studies was on how to have a balanced life.  I want to set the right priorities, but our situation is different.  My mom is very sick and lives with us. How do I balance the needs of my husband against the needs of my mom?
 
A.  I can so relate to where you are. My husband and I helped take care of my mom for several years while she was battling cancer. I know the drain it can be on your marriage and on you.  Let me just share some random thoughts you might find helpful.  

You and your husband need to sit down and have a heart-to-heart about the situation, what his expectations and needs are as well as yours. You will both have to make some compromises.

Share the care of your mom with your husband.  My sister and her husband lived close by.  Together, we shared the burden of caring for our mother and were there for each other when it seemed that we couldn't cry another tear or take another step.  My husband helped me so much, and he would tell you today that it was one of the most precious times in his life.

Make and keep a date with your husband at least once a week.  It can be lunch, dinner, a walk in the park ... just make time for each other.  If your mom needs someone with her, ask one of her friends or one of your friends to stay with her.  It will do you all good to see some fresh faces.  If she is able to stay alone she might enjoy some "space," too. Work hard at maintaining your mother's dignity and independence.   
 
Set aside some time at the end of the day to just sit and talk with your husband.  It is so important that you stay on the same page and communicate with each other. Approach this opportunity to serve and honor your mom as a team. If you have other family members who live close, ask them to do their part in the care of your mom.

Don't feel guilty when you take some time for yourself.  Caring for a parent can be consuming. Just be careful that you take care of yourself so you can take care of her.

Find ways to work out stress.  Walking is a simple but effective stress-buster.  While you walk, pour out your heart to God, rant and rave, listen to praise music ... whatever you need to do. 

I don't know your exact situation, but I hope this helps.  My mom was terminally ill.  We decided to honor her while she was still with us.  We also made many decisions based on what we could live with after Mom was gone.  And I can truthfully say, we both look back and are very thankful we devoted so much time to the woman who devoted her life to us.  We learned some of our most important life lessons during that time.  I hope these ideas help, friend.  Blessings.