November 2, 2025
Summary of Gospel: Summarizing this gospel is very simple. Believers in Jesus’s birth, death and resurrection are going to Heaven. Believers will be resurrected from physical death to eternal life. All physical (in this life) deteriorates and dies but spiritual lives forever! Jesus also promises a New Heaven and New Earth when He comes again but this is a more confusing concept even to bible scholars!
Mathew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the CREATION OF THE WORLD!
Mrs. Smith’s Testimony
In 2009, I was 32 years old, and for the first time in my life, (since I can remember), I was having doubts about my faith and life after death. The ironic part is Mr. Smith and I were living our dreams and had had many successes (as far as worldly standards at this time). We had been married 8 years, had 3 healthy children, (Emily was almost 6, Julia was 3 and Mikey was), a growing business, owned our own home in Huntington Beach, California (even through the 2007 mortgage crisis) and I was (mostly), a stay-at-home mom.
We went to weekly church as a family (as I had my entire life), but Mr. Smith & I were also “self-help” people always striving to live our very best lives. I was struggling with questions internally regarding faith and works. Were these successes/blessings because of our choices and work ethic? If they were from our choices and work ethic then did God exist? Is there nothingness when we die???
For some reason (looking back probably the Holy Spirit’s prompting), I started googling Near Death Experiences (NDE’s). For over a period of about 2 months, I googled and read through at least 250 NDE’s. I found these testimonies fascinating and faith building! Most of the people who experienced an NDE went to heaven, although about 5-10 percent went to hell:(
Of the NDE’s that went to heaven, there were almost always 3 commonalities. The first was the person experiencing the NDE saw a bright light and had an overwhelming feeling of love and/or peace. The second was that the person experiencing the NDE was welcomed by a loved one who had passed or Jesus himself. The third and the most important thing for me to share (especially with our 4 children and other families while we are living in this world) is the person experiencing the NDE always wanted to stay in Heaven but they were told they had to go back because they had “more work to do.”
In the song, “When I get where I’m going,” by Brad Paisley, the lyrics talk about what the singer is going to do when he gets to heaven. Then he discusses our world right now, “so much pain and so much darkness in this world, we stumble through all these questions I can’t answer and so much WORK to do.”
There is work for us to do! Of course salvation (heaven) is through believing in Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. Psalm 23 says, “God is our only HOPE for eternal life and security! Surely goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
But…….there is work for all of us to do! Unique work for each person!! Reading and studying NDEs and imagining heaven from testimonies of people who have been there has strengthened my faith. NDEs have also strengthened Mr. Smith’s faith, so in the John 6:37-40 You Tube video testimony link below, Mr. Smith is going to tell the audience (which is our 4 children and other families) about what he knows about heaven through reading and studying the bible and also through reading and listening to scientific studies on Near Death Experiences (NDE’s).
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So the SPIRITUAL life is filled with Faithfulness/ Belief in Jesus’ Birth, Death, Resurrection & Imagining Heaven:)
Galatians 5:22-23 SAYS SO…..…….
“But the fruit of the SPIRIT is 1) love ,2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness, 6) truth, 7) Faithfulness/Imagining Heaven, 8) Gentleness, & 9) Self-Control. Against such things there is no law.”
The SPIRIT-filled life is filled with the 7th fruit of the spirit, which is Faithfulness. Belief in Eternal Life/Heaven is part of #7 FAITHFULNESS!
Remember in 2009 when I was struggling to understand between faith and works? NDEs and studying the Bible have revealed some important spiritual skills to me. One skill is knowing God controls the amount of time we have on this earth. It says in the bible that God knows our birth dates and our death dates. Quantity of life is therefore, predetermined. However, our quality of life can be altered through our own free will choices (and even this is a mystery). For me, imagining heaven helps me when trials inevitably come. At the young age of 14, Anne Frank said, “People who have a religion should be glad, for not everyone has the gift of believing in heavenly things.” Imagining heavenly things helps us even during unimaginable trials.
Prayers for our Children:
Our prayer for our children this week is that they find the work/purpose we know God has for each of them. The Holy Spirit has given us (as their parents) clues because of their unique personalities and interests but our hope is each of them find (and free-willingly) pursue God’s purpose for each of them, as opposed to wasting time scrolling on devices:/ Imagining heaven is a wonderful start to knowing what your passions and goals are.
In 2023, Chris Pratt, (at Christian Family Day at Dodgers Stadium), said that we can experience heaven on earth. We agree but one would have to imagine their own unique heaven to know when $/HE got there:) Since our children are now related to Chris Pratt (through marriage) to the Kennedy family we are asking them, “Ask not what you can do for yourself, ask what you can do (in your everyday life) to further the gospel message of truth and grace?
WE HOPE 🙏YOU DANCE KIDS!!!!!!