Thursday, July 31, 2008

A Better Country

Note: A very good friend of mine is an editor for Discovery House Publishers, and I have agreed to promote this book on my blog with the following:

Dan Schaeffer, author of A Better Country: Preparing for Heaven, will be visiting my blog on August 7, 2008. Please help me out by posting any questions or comments you may have on heaven. Let’s have an interesting blogosphere conversation—ask the questions about heaven that you’ve always wanted to ask! I have two free copies of this new release from Discovery House Publishers to give to 2 readers. Leave a comment or question and I'll draw 2 names.



What picture comes to mind when you think about heaven? Most of us have heard that heaven is a wonderful place and everyone wants to go there, but we don’t know much else about it. Maybe you’ve decided, like author Dan Schaeffer once did, that there is little that can be known about heaven in this life, so there really isn’t much point speculating. He observes:

“I think if the truth were known, many Christians are at best ambivalent, or at worst afraid, of heaven—or at least of the vision they have in their minds . . . We’re far more attached to earth than we think. This may partly explain why it can be so hard to get Christians to think beyond this earthly life to greater spiritual realities.”

And yet, Schaeffer reminds us, there is a restless yearning in our hearts that moments of pleasure cannot long quench and sorrow only intensifies. And that desire has been planted by God Himself—a universal “longing for a better country—a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16).

In these pages you will discover the thing you’ve always wanted; the world you’ve longed for; the life you were meant to live; the goal you were meant to pursue—in a word, heaven. Based on biblical evidence, Schaeffer’s insights about our heavenly desire, the heavenly location, the heavenly life, and heavenly preparation, show us that God wants that “better country” to be the passion and purpose of our present life. As we understand what heaven will truly be like, our priorities will shift and we will no longer live for this life alone.

THE AUTHOR Dan Schaeffer pastors Shoreline Community Church in Santa Barbara, California. He is an award-winning writer whose articles have appeared in Reader's Digest and A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul. His books include In Search of the Real Spirit of Christmas, When Faith and Decisions Collide, and Defining Moments.

4 comments:

pearlie said...

Will there be a sense of time in heaven?

;)

Anonymous said...

I'd be interested to hear comments relative to "equality" in heaven. Example: Mother Teresa verses Joe Christian Average.
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Do our loved ones in heaven have a view of what is still happening on earth? Are they able to see their family? Skip (And I would love the book:)

Anonymous said...

When someone hurts someone else, I often hear "When that person meets their Maker, they will be held accountable for that." I hear that about Christians and non-Christians alike. It conjures up the image that when someone reaches heaven, he will have to explain to God why he did something "bad". I picture having this interview with God where I am judged one more time before I am given the gift of eternal life, and the gift of never being separated from God again.

That conflicts with my understanding of grace and forgiveness. It conflicts with the peace I feel when I think about being in God's presence away from earthly influences and sin.

Is this a Biblical perspective that we will be judged by God one more time "when we meet our Maker"?