Is heaven your final home? A positive answer is your invitation to ponder this devotional message. Do you enjoy reading? You too can partake of this spiritual banquet. Everyone who has breath and at least one good memory or experience can follow along.

Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord! Praise is comely- a beautiful thing. Right now, heaven resounds with praise. Revelation 4:8 speaks of four creatures with six wings and many eyes. All day and all night they worship God and say: “Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty which was, and is and is to come”

Even the twenty four elders [v 10] worship and declare: “Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things; and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

In the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, which we call the Our Father Prayer a part of it says: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The will of God is to praise Him, to esteem His name, to bow down and worship Him.

O God I worship you,

Kneel down before you.

O God I worship you;

O how I love you!

Listen to the soothing orchestral sounds in your mind:

O God I worship you,

Bow down before you.

O God I worship you;

O how I love you!

Psalmist David in Psalm 103:1 exhorts all to bless the Lord with the entire being – in spirit and in truth. After all, God is a Spirit; and all those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. David knew how to worship God. It begins by entering His presence with thanksgiving. When the Israelites were able to defeat the Philistines and return the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful place, David was so jubilant that he danced before the Lord. His dancing was so vigorous- lively and spirited- that he danced out of his clothes! Michal, his wife thought that it was shameful – a disgrace - and despised David in her heart. After that, they could not connect; and she remained childless.

People who are in the flesh will criticize your worship style. They forget that God inhabits the praises of His people. Whenever you begin to praise God, He draws near to you and lingers there. It is like calling Him to enjoy an especially prepared scrumptious meal. God savours the fruit of your lips - your praise!

Have you ever met someone with a poor memory? Most likely you do not have to look far. Everyone- even young children forget. Their memory is gone sometimes long before Dementia and Alzheimer set in. Parents find that they have to repeat and repeat and repeat. Teachers who use the Assertive Discipline techniques know the importance of Broken Record. Musicians use repetition for its mnemonic effect and other reasons. In literature, writers may use a motif.

God knows the frailty of man and his feeble, fickle mind. Through David in Psalm 103:3, He tells everyone to remember His goodness. Forget not ALL His benefits. We human beings get choosy about what is good or bad. When people get problems that are too hard for them to solve, they focus on the problem instead of the Problem Solver. Man has a school called Hard Knocks where many bitter lessons are taught. God provides a school of faith where the invisible is called into reality.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Have you ever experienced benefits from God? Children are a blessing, a heritage from God. Throughout the Bible God reveals an important truth- that they are to be brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The benefits of having children result from the training because it comes with a promise. Many individuals do not have natural children; but God provides spiritual children.

One young man met me the night my mother was admitted to the hospital. It was late and I had no means of transportation. He recognized me and offered me a ride home. During the journey I allowed him to talk. He began: If it was not for you… He told me where his life was headed; but by listening to my counsel, he came to his senses eventually and walked in a different direction. Before he drove away, he advised me to continue the work I am doing with youth. It worked for him; and he considered himself to be tough - a very difficult case.

Even though people in the tropics complain about the heat, the sun is 93,000 miles away. Praise God for that precise distance.!Without the sun, the world would be so cold and dark. In fact, life might not exist on earth. Praise God for that benefit. No matter how you look at it, James 1:17 say: Every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning. This same God does not show favour to anyone because He allows the rain to fall on the just and on the unjust. Whether you praise Him or not, you still benefit!

What are benefits? Benefits come from the Latin word bene; and it means good, well. Thus benefits provide favour. One songwriter says to count your blessings and name them one by one. When you do that, it will surprise you what the Lord has done. In Psalm103:2, the chief benefit is forgiveness of sins.

In Isaiah 1:18 God says to come and talk with Him. Though your sins are as scarlet, He will make them white as snow. Thought they be red as crimson, He will make them as pure wool. Who can forgive sins? God can. In 1 John 1: 6 God say if you say you have no sin, you deceive yourself and are a liar, but [v9] if you confess your sin – admit you have done wrong, He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. When some people forgive you they say they forgive but won’t forget. God says He casts your sins in the depths of the sea and remembers them no more! Sin separates man from God  like a chasm and brings guilt and shame. God offers salvation which is based on love.

For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall  not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Besides forgiving our sins, God heals all manner of diseases. Have you heard about a chronic liar? Do you know someone who is a kleptomaniac- a thief? The moral laws - Ten Commandment sums up diseases that afflicted societies in the past and even modern society with its technological advances.The rite of circumcision had a distinct purpose.Diseases are  named precisely in the Old Testament; and individuals had the opportunity to choose blessings or curses. During the ministry of Jesus, there were times when He healed an individual and forgave their sins.The Jewish leaders considered such action as blasphemy. Whenever Jesus took this approach,  sometimes He admonished the individual to go and sin no more lest something worst happened to him. The weight of sin is heavy with shame and blame; and even if no physical disease is evident, it takes a toll on the mind..

God redeems our life from destruction. Do you know that everyday the enemy of your soul seeks to destroy you eternally? He lays so many snares for you, gets people to plot your death or even mental illness. While I was a college student I was faced with the supernatural. Early one morning I awoke and found the door to my room wide open; and standing just inside was a muscular cat. The lock on the  door was in the locked position; and I had checked it before going to bed. After the cat left, I prayed, including Psalm 91. But God wanted me  to get out of the room; and  and a voice told me continually to go for help. Finally I summoned help. The girls next door realized what I had seen was not a cat but an evil spirit in the form of a cat. No cat can open a locked door! We had concert prayer; but I could not sleep until the sun began to rise. When a Christian friend heard about my experience, she came to my aid. She advised my friends not to leave me alone because she felt the  'cat'  would return to visit me. Someone had plotted evil; but God worked out everything for good because I love Him.

Another  remarkable experience which resulted in  healing was  the near death  of a young friend who received burns to her face and body when a stove exploded. In an attempt to extinguish the flames, someone threw water on her and she suffered pneumonia. She was admitted to   the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. One night someone dressed like a doctor appeared at the foot of her bed and told her that she was healed. Her response was  immediate; and she began to pull out every tube and plug connected to her body! An emergency team rushed to her bedside. After being transferred to the Burns Unit, where she remained for a few days, she was released from hospital. God redeemed her life from destruction by fire!

In fact, God has redeemed the life of every person on earth. The wages of sin is death- capital punishment. But Kinsman Redeemer died in your place and mine. Though a Spotless Lamb- an innocent Saviour, He took the blame and shame. Why? the people of God are peculiar, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. The purpose God has placed in you and me is to shew forth the praises of Him who has delivered you from darkness so that you can walk in His marvelous light.. Redemption is by blood; and it is by grace. This grace is a favour from God not by works that man does lest he would boast about His deeds.

A crown is significant for it denotes kingship. A king is a symbol of authority. When God showers His children with lovingkindness and mercies, what He says signifies relationship. You are my children and heirs of my kingdom. Whatever belongs to me is your own when you ask. Psalm 84: 11 says  that God will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly.

David in Psalm 63:3 says :

Because  thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

In Lamentations 3: 20,21 God declares that is it because of His mercies that you and I are not  consumed. His compassions never fail and are renewed daily because God is faithful.

God is constant- the same yesterday, today and forever. Are you thankful for such a God who provides such benefits? Do you give praise and thanks for divine wisdom?

Finally, God satisfies our mouth with good things and renews our strength daily. The text, Psalm 81:10, found on a calendar for the day I was born says:

I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 

As we communicate with God, He gives us more testimonies. These are spiritual and temporal blessings. When my sister was sick, she lived in an apartment without a telephone. She spent a lot of time in prayer and fasting. Sometimes she would say, 'I feel like eating grouper today.' Before long, someone would appear with boiled grouper, grits and Johnny cake or a  fresh grouper! Since I lived with her for several months, I am  a witness yo the power of God. Ask according to the will of God and He will surpass your expectations!

I tried  asking for sea food once  and I got a small grouper, big enough for a meal.  During a recent fishing trip, I caught a small Nassau grouper.  I decided to work on the size immediately by asking for a twenty four inch grouper ; but what was on the end of the line was so heavy it began to tear my flesh . Fortunately the line with my hook and sinker broke and the fish got away. Our faith has to grow gradually. God answered; but I was not ready for the drama associated with my request.

The renewal  of faith comes from being with Jesus. One songwriter says:

The longer I serve Him the sweeter He grows.

When an individual abides in heavenly love, age does not become a factor.Actually, God fills His children repeatedly with holy boldness by His Spirit. That person is forever young. When I think of the pastor , who is ninety five, and his wife, I realize that age is but a number. The  pastor and his wife walk to church, weed, farm and care for each other. I am so blessed to be among such youthful people of God! The reference to the eagle is that it changes its feather even when it is old; so the new feathers make it look young.

The reward God has for those who love Him is the greatest benefit. It is life in a land where we will never grow old. There will be no night, no heat, no cold, and no sorrow. Only joy will be there. My destination is heaven. Is that where you want to go too? Praise the Lord! Never get tired of giving God the praise for He is worthy of our praises!