photo by ^Berd
A few years ago I read the book 90 Minutes In Heaven by Don Piper, a retelling of Piper’s experience following a devastating car accident where he died and went to heaven, only to return to his earthly body a full hour and a half after being declared dead by emergency personnel.
Piper offers a fascinating description of heaven, one that he admits doesn’t even come close to the actuality he experienced. His human terms failed to adequately convey the utter joy, peace and bliss he felt as he walked among loved ones and heard the sounds of praise.
Piper describes what he heard this way:
The praise was unending, but the most remarkable thing to me was that hundreds of songs were being sung at the same time - all of them worshipping God. As I approached the large, magnificent gate, I heard them from every direction and realized that each voice praised God….
… If we played three CDs of praise at the same time, we’d have a cacophony of noise that would drive us crazy. This was totally different. Every sound blended, and each voice or instrument enhanced the others….
… Many of the old hymns and choruses I had sung at various times in my life were part of the music - along with hundreds of songs I had never heard before. Hymns of praise, modern-sounding choruses, and ancient chants filled my ears and brought not only a deep peace but the greatest feeling of joy I’ve ever experienced.
Piper explains that none of the songs spoke of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, they were only songs of praise and joy in worship of the mighty God.
Want to get your child thinking what a marvelous place heaven must be? You’ll need several CD players, one for each of several rooms in your house. You’ll also need a variety of Christian music - old fashioned gospel, hymns, maybe some chants, and some contemporary tunes. Your church or public library may be able to help you out with these.
Set up each CD player to play the music at a medium volume, not so loud that it competes with the other songs, but loud enough to hear it playing from just outside the room. It’d be good if you can have three or four different CDs going at the same time.
Instruct your child that you’re going to pretend you’re visiting heaven, where music plays all the time in praise of God. As you walk through ‘heaven’, describe that the music that plays there is always happy, joyful praise music, never sad. Then ask him to imagine the music being more beautiful than what he hears playing now, and that even though there are different kinds of music playing, in heaven, it all sounds just right.
One final thing author Don Piper remembers hearing, along with the praise music. He heard the unmistakable rush of angels’ wings. As he described it:
Myriads of sounds so filled my mind and heart that it’s difficult to explain them. The most amazing one, however, was the angels’ wings. I didn’t see them, but the sound was a beautiful, holy melody with a cadence that seemed never to stop. The swishing resounded as if it was a form of never-ending praise. As I listened I simply knew what it was.
Ask your child to close his eyes and try to imagine what that sounds like.
Heaven is a real place. The only way any of us can get there is through Jesus. Help your child imagine the majesty of heaven and you just might have a doorway to sharing the greatest message he’ll ever hear.
According to Barna, a little over 50% of all Americans believe that, if you are generally good, or do enough good things for other people, that you will earn your way into heaven. What do we teach our children about this?
Piper offers a fascinating description of heaven, one that he admits doesn’t even come close to the actuality he experienced. His human terms failed to adequately convey the utter joy, peace and bliss he felt as he walked among loved ones and heard the sounds of praise.
Piper describes what he heard this way:
The praise was unending, but the most remarkable thing to me was that hundreds of songs were being sung at the same time - all of them worshipping God. As I approached the large, magnificent gate, I heard them from every direction and realized that each voice praised God….
… If we played three CDs of praise at the same time, we’d have a cacophony of noise that would drive us crazy. This was totally different. Every sound blended, and each voice or instrument enhanced the others….
… Many of the old hymns and choruses I had sung at various times in my life were part of the music - along with hundreds of songs I had never heard before. Hymns of praise, modern-sounding choruses, and ancient chants filled my ears and brought not only a deep peace but the greatest feeling of joy I’ve ever experienced.
Piper explains that none of the songs spoke of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, they were only songs of praise and joy in worship of the mighty God.
Want to get your child thinking what a marvelous place heaven must be? You’ll need several CD players, one for each of several rooms in your house. You’ll also need a variety of Christian music - old fashioned gospel, hymns, maybe some chants, and some contemporary tunes. Your church or public library may be able to help you out with these.
Set up each CD player to play the music at a medium volume, not so loud that it competes with the other songs, but loud enough to hear it playing from just outside the room. It’d be good if you can have three or four different CDs going at the same time.
Instruct your child that you’re going to pretend you’re visiting heaven, where music plays all the time in praise of God. As you walk through ‘heaven’, describe that the music that plays there is always happy, joyful praise music, never sad. Then ask him to imagine the music being more beautiful than what he hears playing now, and that even though there are different kinds of music playing, in heaven, it all sounds just right.
One final thing author Don Piper remembers hearing, along with the praise music. He heard the unmistakable rush of angels’ wings. As he described it:
Myriads of sounds so filled my mind and heart that it’s difficult to explain them. The most amazing one, however, was the angels’ wings. I didn’t see them, but the sound was a beautiful, holy melody with a cadence that seemed never to stop. The swishing resounded as if it was a form of never-ending praise. As I listened I simply knew what it was.
Ask your child to close his eyes and try to imagine what that sounds like.
Heaven is a real place. The only way any of us can get there is through Jesus. Help your child imagine the majesty of heaven and you just might have a doorway to sharing the greatest message he’ll ever hear.
According to Barna, a little over 50% of all Americans believe that, if you are generally good, or do enough good things for other people, that you will earn your way into heaven. What do we teach our children about this?
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