Tag Archives: heaven

Looking Beyond This Life | Bible Gleanings | January 24-25, 2026

January 23, 2026 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

You are standing on a vanishing strip of soil, but not for long. Surrounding you on both sides are two rapidly raging rivers, eating away the ground beneath your feet. Swimming to safety is not an option, and it is only a matter of time before one of the turbulent torrents sweeps you away forever. Strangely, the secret to survival is your sight—keeping your gaze locked on both rushing rapids. And this is not a heart-stopping scene from a survival movie—this is how John Wesley (June 28, 1703—March 2, 1791) picturesquely described living a life that counts for eternity before your heart stops:

“I desire to have both heaven and hell ever in my eye, while I stand on this isthmus of life, between two boundless oceans.”

The Scripture supports Wesley’s sobering statement. Life is as short as a three-to-five second breath (Ps. 144:4), and fades as quickly as a vapor (James 4:14). We are candles flickering in the wind, living on borrowed time, and only one heartbeat away from eternity. But why should heaven-bound believers live with one eye fixed on heaven and the other eye fixed on hell? Simply put, concentrating on heaven keeps our hearts lifted and contemplating hell keeps our feet moving.

To cheer our troubled hearts, we should think often of that glorious place being prepared for us by Christ (John 14:2-3), and to ignite evangelistic zeal in our hearts, we should think often of that gruesome place prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41), where lost souls are headed. While enduring bitter afflictions, we should ponder the bliss and wonder of spending a never-ending eternity of worshipping Christ (Rom. 8:18), but to strengthen our resolve to preach the gospel to every creature, we should pin our thoughts to the banishment and woe of a never-ceasing eternity of enduring the wrath of God, laid up for our unbelieving friends and family members (2 Thess. 1:8-9). While we rejoice that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20), we must remember that the souls whose names are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire forever and ever (Rev. 20:12-15), and that should compel us to preach unto them, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). While we yearn for the day when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Rev. 21:4), we must grieve that there is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 13:42), to which unsaved souls around us are bound, unless they hear and believe the gospel from our lips.

Keep both infinite oceans in view. Let heaven anchor your heart—let hell awaken your concern. Let heaven console you—let hell compel you to action. Think about the glory awaiting you, and be encouraged. Think about the gloom awaiting the unsaved, and be evangelistic.

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

We Are Going Home | Bible Gleanings | October 19-20, 2024

October 18, 2024 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

They were hopelessly and helplessly stranded on the beaches of northern France with no way home. Over 300,000 Allied troops were geographically incarcerated on the French seaport of Dunkirk, and the German army was closing in. Knowing that they were facing annihilation, the British government launched Operation Dynamo during those early days of WWII, with the goal of transporting the troops to safety across the English Channel. A fortified fleet of over 800 naval vessels began shipping soldiers home on May 26 of 1940, and the magnitude and multifariousness of the evacuation inspired Winston Churchill to call it “a miracle of deliverance.” The soldiers knew a homegoing was coming soon, and they held out hope until help arrived.

The same is true for all saint-soldiers who serve the Savior. When Jesus returns, all believers will be relieved of and rescued from their warring against the flesh, the world, and the devil. A heavenly homegoing is hastening for God’s holy nation because the return of the King of kings and Lord of lords draws nearer with every passing day. The Lord’s people will not be trapped in their sinful bodies interminably, nor will they battle the world’s wickedness and Satan’s wiles indefinitely. And Christ will not send boats after His saints—rather, He will personally deliver them, riding on a white horse to rescue them with His irresistible might (Rev. 19:11-16).

God gives His beleaguered and battle-hardened people such blessed assurance in Philippians 3:20-21, where Paul wrote, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” One glorious day, Jesus will raise and resurrect His redeemed people, and render ruin, retribution, and reckoning unto the damned, the devil, and even death—and it will be the mightiest miracle of deliverance ever. The great evacuation will look something like this:

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

Until then, all believers must hold out hope that the Helper will arrive in due time. As Christians, we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). And let us occupy our waiting by praying the next-to-last words in the Scripture, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20b, KJV).

Pick up a copy of Brandon’s latest book, Fundamentals for the Faithful, which explains the importance of all the basics which every believer should know:

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Pressing On | Bible Gleanings | September 21-22, 2024

September 20, 2024 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

They called it the “Miracle Mile,” and for good reason. Unbeknownst to the 35,000 spectators at Vancouver’s Empire Stadium on August 7, 1954, they were about to witness a race that would go down in history. During the British Empire and Commonwealth Games held that year, fans stood to their feet as Roger Bannister of England and John Landy of Australia competed head-to-head in a nail-biting one-mile run. Both finished in under four minutes, but only one took home the gold: Roger Bannister, who actually lagged behind for the majority of the race. However, during the final 90-yard stretch, Bannister closed the gap when John Landy committed the race-ending error of glancing over his shoulder to see where his opponent was. Because of Landy’s momentary lapse of concentration, Bannister left him in the dust and won the race.

When running a race, you cannot afford to look back, around, or down—you may lose momentum and the race altogether. To win the race, you must concentrate on the finish line and keep pressing on. And the same is true for the believer’s race of endurance toward the finish line of glory. Looking back on previous failures, looking down in discouragement, and looking around at what the world is doing will substantially impede any Christian running on the narrow road. That is why Paul the apostle said, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13b-14).

As believers, we must not look back with regret at the once-loved sins we have abandoned, like Lot’s wife, who longed to return to sinful Sodom and godless Gomorrah (Gen. 19:26; Luke 17:32; cf. Num. 11:5-6; Gal. 4:9). We must also resist looking down in dismay because of past sins, which may have caused us to fall behind in our race. While we must never forget who we were apart from Christ (Eph. 2:11-13), we must not dwell on already-forgiven sins to the point where we think about them more than God does (Heb. 10:17). Furthermore, we cannot afford to look around, enticed by the evils of those who aren’t even in the race. The world may roar from the stands, tempting us to take part in the works of darkness, but we must not become sidetracked (Prov. 1:10-19; 24:1).

Instead, we must look forward to the finish line and Jesus, who awaits us with a crown of victory (2 Tim. 4:7-8; cf. Heb. 12:1-2). We must press on toward glory with every grace-empowered spiritual muscle, whilst singing the words of We Shall Run and Not Be Weary, written by Barney Elliott Warren (1867-1951), which says, “I now am running in the Christian race, to gain the promised prize; through Jesus’ matchless, saving, keeping grace, we’ll crown Him in the skies.”

Pick up a copy of Brandon’s latest book, Fundamentals for the Faithful, which explains the importance of all the basics which every believer should know:

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Already, But Not Yet | Bible Gleanings | September 14-15, 2024

September 13, 2024 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

My former treasurer handed me a check, but advised, “You can’t cash this until Tuesday.” My name was right there on the “pay to the order of” line, so it was as good as mine—no question. But there was a catch: I had to wait. The check was already in my hands, but I couldn’t receive its full benefits until the date written in the top right corner. It was in my possession, but not yet.

Many other things may be in our possession, but not in actuality. A package from Amazon may be your purchased property, but it is not officially yours until it arrives on your doorstep. A foster child you’re in the process of adopting may be as good as yours, but they won’t legally be yours until a judge grants you permanent custody. An engagement ring may signify that your fiancée is effectively your wife, but the union won’t be legally binding until the wedding day. A house or vehicle may be in your name, but you might be paying them off until Jesus returns!

And the same is true for the believer’s heavenly inheritance. As believers, we are Christ’s bought-and-paid-for property right now, but we have yet to arrive at heaven’s doorsteps (1 Cor. 6:20). Even now, we enjoy the rights and privileges of being His adopted children, but Jesus isn’t finished preparing our heavenly home (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:23; John 14:1-3). As the church, we are His beloved and blood-bought bride, but the wonderful wedding day is still to come (Eph. 5:25-33; Rev. 19:6-8). While on earth, we are His possession, with His own name written upon us, but Jesus has not yet returned to take what is rightfully His (1 Peter 2:9; Rev. 3:12; John 14:3).

Heaven is already in our possession, but heaven isn’t in possession of us. We have to wait until the date of our death to “cash in” on our heavenly inheritance. Paul said it best in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Thus, as believers, we sing both, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,” and, “O, what a foretaste of glory divine!” Jesus is ours and we are His, according to Fanny Crosby’s (1820-1915) timeless hymn, Blessed Assurance. However, our experience of Jesus on earth is merely a preview of glory—we still have a lot of waiting to do. On earth, we see God’s blessings, hear His voice in Scripture, and our hearts are full of joy and peace, but simultaneously, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9, KJV).