(By Pastor Jean)

“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Col 3:2; NLT). We must program our minds to do this. In Col 3:1 we are told to “seek the things above”, the Greek word for “seek” is “zeteo” which means to strive after something or seek diligently. The Bible also tells us to look forward to heaven with expectation. We read in Heb 11:10 that Abraham “was (waiting expectantly and confidently) looking forward to the city that has foundations (an eternal, heavenly city)” (AMP). Verse 16 of that chapter also tells us that the descendants of Abraham were, “longing for a better country, that is a heavenly country.” Heaven is referred to as “paradise” by Jesus. He told the thief hanging next to Him on the cross, “today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The Bible doesn’t say an awful lot about heaven but we all know what “paradise “means so this gives a good indication. The apostles Paul and John also used this word. When Paul Was describing a vision he had he said he was, “caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words” (2 Cor 12:4; CSB). In the book of Revelation, John told the church at Ephesus that those who overcome will eat fruit from the tree of life which is in paradise. Regardless of what we do or don’t know about heaven there is one thing that is quite certain which is that Jesus will be there and we will see Him!! (Rev 1:17,19:4,6:1,4:2,3; Col 3:1).