I’m Saving Up Questions For Heaven

This morning I awoke from a wonderful dream. I was playing with my grandson at his parents’ house [winks at Ben & Tiffany] and we were having a blast playing with all his toys, just Benjamin and me.

I lay in bed and marveled at the ability to dream; dreams have always been a mystery to me. As I thought about the ability to dream the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me what a wonderful thing our minds are. A song by Chris Rice came to mind titled “Questions for Heaven” and I want to share the last two lines from the first stanza and the chorus:

    Now my cranium swims
    With questions I can’t wait to ask You

    …Like why did You bother with so many stars?
    Do You ever play tricks on the angels?
    And what happened to all of those dinosaurs?
    Where’s the Garden of Eden?
    And what causes de ja vu?

The Garden of Eden; that’s when our minds were as pure and powerful as God the Creator intended. Just think of it:

    “Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:19-20)

Adam was one smart dude, the first zoologist for that matter! But then sin polluted Eve’s and his mind:

    “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” (Genesis 3:6-7)

Our carnal minds came about from Adam and Eve eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God is at times accused of trying to keep things from us, in fact that was the devil’s first and still most effective ploy:

    “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:4-5)

First of all God never told Adam that he would die if he touched the tree, but if he ate of it. Eve added to God’s commands and Satan went right along with it and told a half-truth; they would know about good and evil.

An unchecked mind can become so wicked:

    “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32)

…but also approve of those who practice them. This past Sunday our pastor commented on how adultery used to be scorned upon and now it is celebrated on television. Just look at ABC’s Desperate Housewives; that show is about adulterous married couples. How is it that show is on television, especially following as wholesome a show as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? Dear Christian, if you are watching Desperate Housewives or any other like it, the 30-second justification clock is starting…right now.

Never mind me having questions for heaven; I’m sure my Lord is going to have some questions for me!

My old adage of garbage in, garbage out is tried and trued. When we put junk into our minds through our eyes and ears, it will eventually work its way out. The best way is through confession and scrubbing your mind with Scripture. Sometimes it comes out in our speech. Sometimes the dreams we have, ones we would be ashamed of, releases the garbage. And worse yet, it sometimes comes out through our behavior.

We cannot defile our minds and expect purity to rule the day in our flesh:

    “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” (Titus 1:15)

April 27, 2010…our minds are a long way from where our Creator made and intended them to be. Paul writes of the human struggle in Romans 7, but he gives us the remedy in Ephesians 4:

    “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

This verse calls for mental fasting. We cannot necessarily control the thoughts that come into our mind but I surely can control that upon which I meditate. And when I spend the day meditating on anything and everything praise worthy, I can go to bed with a clear conscience and do as Chris Rice describes in the closing verse from his song:

    Time to call it a day
    Time to turn off my brain
    It’s already half past eleven
    Reach to turn out the light
    And close my sleepy eyes
    And save up the questions for Heaven
    I’ll save all the questions for Heaven
    I’m saving up questions for Heaven

I’m not sure this made much sense this morning; just letting you eavesdrop…

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2010 David Jeffers

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