I have to share something that happened this morning in our worship service. During our prayer time, we had two people who we were anointing with oil. One was a man and the other a woman. I asked a few men to surround the man and we prayed for his upcoming surgery and then he and the men sat down. When I asked the lady to come forward, I also asked for a few women to come forward and lay hands on the woman who is battling cancer. When I made the “ask” for ladies, Jess came forward and right behind her was Ella, our 4-year-old!

I was super-impressed that my awesome daughter was willing to come forward during the time of prayer and it was nearly an hour after service that my wife told me that not only did Ella come forward with her, but she ASKED to come forward AND she didn’t just stand there – she laid HER hands on this cancer-battling-lady as we prayed for her! How cool is THAT?!

I am so thankful for my wonderful family – and more-importantly, that the Lord is already working on-and-through my little girl!

A few weeks ago I began hearing about the book, “Heaven is for Real”, written by Todd Burpo. Todd is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska. I was initially interested in the book simply because a fellow Wesleyan Pastor was published and apparently the book was gaining in popularity. When I read the description of the book, I knew I needed to get a hold of it sooner-than-later.

Late last night I was reading through my Twitter feed and saw that one of my buddies about 3/4 of the way through the book and was obviously impacted by what he was reading. I made the decision to buy the book through my Amazon Kindle app on my Android phone and literally within seconds I was reading. A sample-chapter of the book is available if you’re interested.

The story follows the Burpo family through months of trying times all culminating with their 3-year-old son Colton’s appendix bursting and his near-death. A few months after this incident, while on a family-trip, Colton began to reveal that during his surgery he actually visited Heaven. The details with which Colton described his time in Heaven are absolutely incredible. I am grateful to the Burpo family for allowing readers to be brought into this incredible story.

As I read the book, there were a few times where I literally dropped my phone to my chest (was reading it on my Kindle app) and gasped in disbelief. I was in awe at how the details continued to be revealed to the family as Colton continued to let them in on his experience in Heaven.

Personally, Colton’s story drew me back to an experience I had with my older sister Stacia while she was still here and suffering through her bout with cancer. On a Sunday afternoon with her eyes still shut she exclaimed to those of us in her hospital room that she “saw stairs”. I cannot recall exactly how much time lapsed, but I believe it was over the next couple of hours she gave us a play-by-play of her experience of visiting Heaven. She was twelve years old. I remember instantly-interpreting her description of what she was seeing and being fascinated that God was giving her a glimpse of her eternal home. She mentioned meeting family members that she did not know here on earth. I remember her getting quiet for some time and then exclaiming loudly, “I found the babies!” as we all quickly returned to her bedside for the update on what she was experiencing. It was after that experience that my sister had a new-found peace in being ready to leave this world for her eternal home with Jesus. That experience has left indelible marks upon my heart.

When I think about ‘visions of Heaven’, I can’t help but be skeptical. I approach these kinds of things with hazy glasses – wondering how much of any account can be trusted as a genuine source or actual testimony. Much of the Christian world does the same. We’re even quick to quote passages like 1 Corinthians 2:9 – But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” When we do this, we make the mistake that we do more often than not of taking the Bible out of context. In the very next verse (10), the Apostle Paul writes, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” This gives me assurance that indeed God does reveal some of these “hidden” things by His Spirit. And as we look at the whole of Scripture we see picture-after-picture of the glory and awe that awaits the faithful who find rest in eternity.

I don’t know what parts of the Heaven-visions in Scripture or in accounts like “Heaven is for Real” are symbolic or literal, but God’s Word is not cryptic in revealing that Heaven and Hell are real places and are the only two options when we leave this earth.

“Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back” is an excellent book. It is well-written and provides a fascinating inside-peak into the lives and experiences of the Burpo family as they experienced the supernatural. I highly recommend reading the book and from experience can say that it is nearly impossible to put down.

The book is available on Amazon right now at 48% off.

Have you read the book? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

The Sunday before Christmas it was a special honor to have Rev. Walter Malaza, Wesleyan District Superintendent in Swaziland with us at First Wesleyan. He spoke powerfully on our need to know what we’re doing for Christ.

On Christmas Eve we had around 70 people join together for our worship & candlelight service! I have continued to hear how special that service was for many of our church people and their friends and family that came with them.

This past Sunday I finished up our series, “Come Together” with a sermon entitled, “Love that changes the world”. Sermon audio is available here on our church website.

As 2010, draws to a close, I am excited about what God is going to continue to do in and through our church in the coming year! Please continue to pray for our family and our ministry at First Wesleyan – we are trusting the Lord for great things!