Category: Heaven

God’s embrace

Ruth Kirk

His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me (Song of Songs 8:3; NIV).

Your warm embrace
Is wide enough for all.

Your arms are strong:
You catch us when we fall.

Your hold us in your hands
Each time we fail.

You carry us
When we are sick and frail.

You stay within us here,
From our first breath,

And bear us home to paradise,
In death.

Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43; NLT).

There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am (John 14:2-3; NLT).

References

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms (Psalm 68:19; NLT).

The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you (Deuteronomy 33:27; NLT).

Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling (Psalm 66:9; NLT).

He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young (Isaiah 40:11; NLT).

He loves his people; all his holy ones are in his hands. They follow in his steps and accept his teaching (Deuteronomy 33:3; NLT).

If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us (1 John 4:12; NLT).

 

Live in God’s kingdom

Ruth Kirk

The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21; NKJV).

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (Revelation 3:20; NLT).

Live in God’s kingdom,
And live in God’s might,
Sharing God’s gentleness,
Goodness, and light.

Live in God’s darkness,
And live in God’s flame,
Sharing God’s poverty,
Sorrow, and pain.

Live in God’s presence,
And live in God’s Son,
Sharing God’s tenderness –
Living as one.

Live in God’s Spirit
From heaven above,
Sharing God’s faithfulness –
Living in love.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:15-16; NIV).

References

The Holy One will be a flame (Isaiah 10:17; NLT).

You must love the Most High God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30, TIB).

If you say you love God but hate your sister or brother, you are a liar. For you cannot love God, whom you have not seen, if you hate your neighbor, whom you have seen. If we love God, we should love our sisters and brothers as well; we have this commandment from God (1 John 4:20-21; TIB).

Love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).

Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 3:12; NIV).

“I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.” Then they will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?” And he will answer, “I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me” (Matthew 25:42-45; NLT).

 

Perfect beauty

Ruth Kirk

From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth (Psalm 50:2; NIV).

Perfect beauty; perfect love:
God is light from heaven above.

Perfect sunshine; perfect rain:
God is here in joy and pain.

Perfect mercy; perfect Son:
God is kind to everyone.

Perfect patience; perfect peace:
God is truth that will not cease.

Perfect healing; perfect care:
God is with us everywhere.

Perfect beauty; perfect love:
God, alone, is truly good.

God is with us (Isaiah 7:14; NLT).

Only God is truly good (Luke 18:19; NLT).

References

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:43-8; NLT).

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked (Luke 6:35; NLT).

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5; NIV).

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies (Psalm 103:2-4; NLT).

As for me…

Ruth Kirk

Fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD (Joshua 24:14-15 NLT).

As for me, I’ll call to you,
And I’ll declare your praise.

As for me, I’ll tell your deeds,
And try hard not to sin.

As for me, I’ll laud your strength,
And speak to you direct.

As for me, I’ll cling to hope,
And trust in you alone.

As for me, I’m in your hands,
And look to you for help.

As for me, I’ll reach your house,
Where I’ll behold your face.

As for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple (Psalm 5:7; KJV).

As for me, I will behold thy face (Psalm 17:15; KJV).

References

As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me (Psalm 55:16; NIV).

As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob (Psalm 75:9; NIV).

As for me, I will always proclaim what God has done (Psalm 75:9; NLT).

As for me, I will certainly not sin against the LORD by ending my prayers for you (1 Samuel 12:23; NLT).

As for me, I will sing about your power (Psalm 59:16; NLT).

As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty (Job 13:3; NLT).

As for me, I will always have hope (Psalm 71:14; NIV).

As for me, I trust in the LORD (Psalm 31:6; NIV).

As for me, I am in your hands – do with me as you think best (Jeremiah 26:14; NLT).

As for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer (Psalm 70:5; NIV).

 

When you fall

Ruth Kirk

Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion (Isaiah 40:30; NLT).

The LORD upholds all who fall (Psalm 145:14; NKJV).

Let me catch you
When you fall.
Let me catch you,
One and all:
For my heart
Is full of love,
Streaming down
From heaven above.

Let me bear you
When you rise,
Far beyond
The eastern skies:
There you’ll live
In paradise,
Where all are one
With me, the Christ.

God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10; JB).

References

After I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me (John 14:1-6; JB).

In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old (Isaiah 63:9; BSB).

We who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17; NLT).

I bear you on eagles’ wings, and bring you in unto Myself (Exodus 19:4; YLT).

Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31; NKJV).

Go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you (Daniel 12:13; NLT).

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely (Psalm 63:7-8; NLT).

As the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes (Matthew 24:27; NLT).

 

Like You

Ruth Kirk

The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him (Mark 14:1; NLT).

Like You,
When we’re feeling alone,
And in trouble:
We’re still one with God.

Like You,
When we’re grieving, alone,
And in anguish:
We’re still one with God.

Like You,
When we’re dying, alone,
And in torment:
We’re still one with God.

Like You,
When we rise, Lord,
In heaven, forever:
We’re still one with God!

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-3; NIV).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

References

He began to be deeply distressed and troubled (Mark 14:33; NIV).

He was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44; NLT).

Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).

Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face (John 19:1-3; NLT).

The soldiers nailed him to the cross (Mark 15:24; NLT).

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Mark 15:34; NLT).

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last (Luke 23:46; NIV).

The life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being (Job 12:10; NLT).

Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38; NLT).

Be sure of this: I am with you always (Matthew 28:20; NLT).

He loves us with unfailing love; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

Peace

Ruth Kirk

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9; NIV).

Pray for peace (Psalm 122:6; NLT).

I pray for the end
Of hate and fear;

I pray for the end
Of pain and grief;

I pray for the end
Of greed and war –

So peace will reign
For evermore.

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14; NIV).

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Revelation 21:4; NLT).

References

I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid (John 14:27; NLT).

Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea (Isaiah 48:18; NLT).

The Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:17; NLT).

 

The Kingdom of God

Ruth Kirk

The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21; NKJV).

The Kingdom of God
Is already within us –
Yes! God’s Promised Land
Is so near to us all.

Paradise, always,
Is shining forever –
Whilst God waits within,
To respond when we call.

The LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

References

I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! (Psalm 139:7; NLT).

The LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him (Deuteronomy 4:7; NIV).

Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it (Genesis 28:16; NIV).

He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance (Psalm 47:4; NLT).

Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43; NLT).

God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all (1 John 1:5; NLT).

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it (John 1:5; NLT).

We are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

The LORD hears when I call to him (Psalm 4:3; NIV).

He stoops to look down on heaven and earth. He lifts then poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them amongst princes, even the princes of his own people! (Psalm 113:6-8; NLT).

 

Heaven on earth

Ruth Kirk

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children” (Matthew 19:14; NLT).

Children playing: free at last,
Having left behind the past.
No abuse; joy unsurpassed –
It’s heaven!

Women laughing: unoppressed,
Having passed through every test
With honours. Now so loved and blest –
It’s heaven!

Menfolk dancing: no more war!
No advantage any more.
Equal, under Yahweh’s law –
It’s heaven!

All are spirits. All are one
In Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.
Included: all; excluded: none –
It’s heaven!

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever” (Revelation 5:13; NLT).

References

Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17; NLT).

May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10; NLT).

Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them (Genesis 1:27; TIB).

The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore (Isaiah 2:4; NLT).

Then I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. I also saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God, beautiful as a bride and groom on their wedding day. And I heard a loud voice calling from the throne, “Look! God’s Tabernacle is among humankind! God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them. The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the old order has fallen” (Revelation 21:1-4; TIB).

Fly free

Ruth Kirk

Those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31; NLT).

At death
I will fly free at last,

Forever
Leave behind my past,

Forget it all,
Bid life adieu,

Then, evermore,
Be one with you!

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

References

The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come (Luke 4:18-19; NLT).

Those who die in the LORD will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead! (Isaiah 26:19; NLT).

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36; NIV).