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Inspiration Point: His three-hour journey toward heaven |
The church is packed.
Phil, the speaker, lives the true real simple lifestyle. He doesn’t
own a car, television or a telephone. And his house is sans
electricity.
Repeatedly during his hour-plus talk he comes near tears, recalling
his three hour journey. Although only occasionally has he traveled
further than 50 miles from his home, the story of his journey has
the crowd of 500 plus intensely focused.
Phil often repeats the phrase, “It was unreal,” while describing
his journey.
His three hour journey? He’s talking about a journey to heaven.
The Apostle Paul alludes to his own journey to heaven: “I know this
man — whether in the body or apart from the body, I don’t know, but
God knows ...”
“Is Phil’s story real?” I thought.
God knows.
His story goes: while alone one morning at work, he was suddenly
taken up to heaven. And there he met Jesus and was given a tour of
heaven. Phil says about his look-in-the-eyes meeting with Jesus:
“There was fire in his eyes.” He stops, as a rush of emotion halts
his words. “But when you love the Lord Jesus, they’re the loving
kind.”
He finishes speaking, walks stage right and sits down. Lowering his
head — the weight of his eternally engraved journey wears like a
tattoo on his slumped body. There’s no offering tonight. He refuses
to accept one. An honorarium? No. “Give the money to someone needy.”
The scriptures remind: “Set your mind on things above, not on
earthly things.”
So many times I need to do a mental brake and once again hear
Phil’s almost begging, journey-inspired words. “Let’s be true
followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
They still echo in my head as I transcend from Earth.
Syndicated columnist Rick Leland is
pastor of The Free Church in Three Rivers, Mich. |
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From
Aug. 11, 2007,
Newberg Graphic
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