Author: wannabechristiandoorman

Categories
Uncategorized

The Sail in the Wind

I had a picture of a sail being hoisted into position on a yacht.
The sail was only part way up. The wind was light and didn’t have any real direction to it, as such the sail was flailing about a bit.
The top of the sail was always being drawn towards the top, following the line that it was attached to. The rest of the sail followed.
In its part way up position you had the top of the sail leading the way, the middle part of the sail flailing in the wind and the bottom part of the sail resting on the deck.

I felt that the picture could be a picture of the church.

The top of the sail is the leader of the church, following the way set before them by God.
The next part of the sail is the leadership team (these could be both staff and non staff people) who are supporting and following the leaders guidance.
Then you have those who are up and doing what they can, when they can.
Then you have those who are just getting off the deck, to join those who can and do.
Lastly you have those who are still on the deck, waiting to see if they will join those who are off the deck or just stay where they are.

If you are part of the church, then where about on the sail would you be?

Are you with those who are off the deck flailing around in the slight wind, not quite sure of what’s going on?
Are you on the deck looking at those off the deck, thinking, that looks a bit messy up there, I think that I’ll stay just where I am?
Or are you on the deck just waiting to join the fun of those who are already off the deck, just waiting for the wind?

When the wind does comes and properly inflates the sail, then the real movement will happen!

But how much of the sail will be in the wind?

1%, 10%, ….. 100%, or somewhere in between?
How much of the sail is off the deck will greatly determine how much movement occurs when the wind comes. A sail that is 100% up will catch more than one that is only 10% up.

When the wind comes, then will you be part of those who are where they are meant to be, off the deck?
Or will you be part of those who are on the deck, thinking, if only I was up there?

While we are waiting for the wind, well things may appear to be a little bit unsettling. Try not to focus on the flapping about, instead focus on the goal and where we are heading to.

To the leaders, try not to be put off by the flapping about but instead focus on where you are being led, and as such continue to lead the way, that we all should go.
Can those who are off the deck encourage those who are on the deck to join them, so that when the wind comes, we will then have a bigger sail?
If you are on the deck then can you join those who are moving up to where they should be?

Although this picture has described the church as a whole, can we apply it on a personal level?

If the wind of God came today, then how much of your sail would you have available?

Is your sail fully up, ready and waiting for the wind?
Or is it all on the deck, where the wind could come and go and then pass you by?
It’s going to be best to have as much of your sail up and waiting, as you can, so that when the wind does come, then you can be moved by the wind to where you are meant to be.

Father,
I ask that You help us all to know where it is that You want us to be, so that we can then say yes to You, and be where You want us to be.
Help us to know and trust You that much more, so that we can follow You, and be ready to do what You would like us to be doing.
Amen.

Categories
Uncategorized

I don’t like cats!

I don’t like cats.
I’m sorry to all you cat lovers out there but I just don’t like them.
They’re always coming into my garden leaving little presents in the soil, of the type you’d rather not have and they’ve even gone and sat on my newly planted flowers squashing them.
So, you see that I just don’t like cats.

Now when I see them in my garden, I’m out through the back door with my washing up liquid bottle in hand, filled with water, (that’s left strategically by the door,) with a look on my face that could only say. “This time I’m going to get you and I really mean business.”

I do hope the neighbours haven’t seen this, as it must be quite a sight.

Now the thing is, I do like my neighbours.
They are lovely people, always willing to help out if they can and I don’t think that they’ve ever moaned at me, even though I’ve probably given them something to moan about at some point in time.

Now the cats that I chase out of my garden, with all the passion of a man racing for the gold medal, belong to, …..
Yes you may have guessed it by now, my neighbours, who I do think so highly of.
I hope they also think of me in the same way but I can’t be so sure of that one, especially if they’ve seen me chasing after their cats.

Now there’s a thought.
Have they seen me chasing after their cats???
I do really like my neighbours after all and I really wouldn’t want to upset them.
Yet I could be doing just that, if they ever have seen me running around my garden like a demented man squirting as much water as I possibly can at they’re dear little cats.

Oh dear, I do seem to have a bit of a problem here.

You see I still don’t like cats, but I do really like my neighbours, and I don’t want to upset them, if I haven’t already.

So how can I deal with they’re cats?

I could just carry on looking at them as if they are just any old cats and chase them away as I have done so many times before.

Or, I could try to see them as my neighbour’s cats and as such just try to gently shoo them out of my garden? Just so that I don’t upset my neighbours.

I guess I might just have to get rid of that washing up liquid bottle by the back door now…???

What I have just shared with you can also be true in the church.

There can be people who come along, who we just don’t get along with.
A clash of personality you could call it.

So how do we deal with these people?

Do we going chasing after them with a washing up liquid bottle in hand, metaphorically speaking, and try to chase them away?

Or can we try to see them in a different light?

Well, you see my Father in heaven loves me and he also loves the people I struggle with.

So, if by my dealing with the people I struggle with in an unloving manner causes my Father in heaven pain, ….
Then do I want to carry on doing that?

Can I try to see these people as my Father’s children, and out of that have a bit more patience for them? Just so that I don’t upset my Father in heaven?

Father,
Help us all to bear with one another.
Help us to see those who we struggle with as Your children.
Help us to have a bit more patience for them, even if it is only so we don’t upset you.
Amen.

Categories
Uncategorized

What is it to Know Anxiety???

With a title like this one you might think that I am a person who suffers with anxiety.
On the most part I don’t, but just recently my mind has not been working quite how I would like it to. It’s been (what I call) a little bit fuddled and muddled. It’s been like it’s been stuck in the wrong gear either going too slow, for my liking or spinning away over nonsense.
It’s meant that I’ve not been able to do some of the things that I think I should have been able to do.
It’s all been a bit frustrating, to say the least.

I have asked various groups who I meet with (who I trust) to pray for my troubled mind.
One person did ask, “Is there anything that you are anxious about?”
Initially, I just smiled at that thought. No, life is generally OK, so I’m not really anxious about anything.

The thought didn’t leave me though, and as I have pondered on it, then I have come to realise that a smallish project that I’m trying to do something with has been playing on my mind, a bit more than it possibly should. Even when I’m not thinking about it, it’s still there in the background somewhere, mulling itself over.
If my subconscious could talk to me, then it might possibly be screaming out, “Just put this one on the shelf for a moment!” 🙂

Could this possibly be the cause of my muddled thinking???

Sometimes I can go through something and part of my way of dealing with it is writing about it. Some things may get published and other things get deleted. Once I’ve finished writing this one, then I’ll decide if it’s to be published, stored or deleted.

So what’s the purpose of writing all this?
On one level it’s your try and get it all straightened out in my own mind.
It could also possibly help someone with a muddled mind or someone who knows somebody, with a muddled mind…

My muddled thinking just kind of crept up on me.
Because it was a gradual thing it took a bit of time for me to notice it. I guess it was only when I was unhappy with my mind that I noticed it.
I’m guessing that’s the first step, acknowledging that something is wrong. I didn’t self diagnose that I was struggling with anxiety, I just simply knew year my mind wasn’t working as I wanted it to.

The next thing I did was to ask for help.
The form of help I asked for was, prayer for my troubled mind that just wouldn’t do what I knew it should be able to do.
This did lead to a question which lead to the self analysis that you have just read above.

When I realised that this project was playing on my mind, I could then (and did) ponder and prayerfully consider it.
I even asked for people to pray that I might know how to deal with this project. I didn’t divulge all the details of the project, just enough so that people might have a better idea of how to pray.
I do think that this an important point to note when asking for prayer.
You don’t need to divulge all the details to everybody, use a bit of wisdom as to what is needed to be shared and to whom you share it with.

Asking for help/prayer can sometimes be a bit of a difficult thing to do.
The question I dread most goes along the lines of, “What’s causing you to feel this way?”
If I knew the answer to that, then would I be asking for help in the first place???

A previous post of A Moden Day Plank in the Eye looks deeper into this thought. A brief summary of that post, I’m looking for God’s help more than I’m looking for man’s.

I do understand that man can have the correct answers at times, but I also know that God has all the answers, all the time.
We just need to hear what He is saying to us.

So, what could you do if you have a troubled mind?
Could you follow something of the process I went through?
Acknowledge that something is wrong.
Ask for help.
Consider (prayerful consideration works best) any words which are spoken to you (from both man and God), even if you initially dismiss them.
If needed seek further prayer/help with the answers you receive.
If you ask Him to help you then your Loving Heavenly Father can help, lead and guide you to what is the best way to go.

How could you help someone who has a bit of a troubled mind?
If it’s a friend who’s struggling, then could you just simply be a good friend?
Could you help out where you can? Could you not meddle where it’s not needed?
Prayerful consideration of ….. should give you the best answers of what to do.

I have written a post called How can we help those who don’t want help? I don’t think I need to explain what it’s about as the title says it all. If you are prompted to, then have a read of it.

My best advice for everyone is always to seek your Loving Heavenly Father. He knows just what you need at all times and is there for you, if you will just try to seek Him and His wisdom.

As for me…. well, I’m doing better than I was. I might not quite be where I would like to be, but improvements have been made.
I dare say that I’m just like everyone else, in that, I’m still a work in progress. 🙂

Categories
Uncategorized

Do we recognise the food we need?

I lost my appetite a little while back. I knew that I needed to eat though. I knew this and as such I had to effectively force feed myself.
I didn’t enjoy the experience, but I knew that I needed the energy.

There were actually two times I lost my appetite.
The first was when I was overcoming a virus. I was weak from the virus and I did not want to face food, but I knew that my body needed the energy to continue to recover.
The second time was when I was experiencing pain. Again I just lost my appetite. But, I just knew that I needed energy. If anything I needed more energy to cope with the pain that I was experiencing. I was working harder just to do normal things, hence my increased need for energy.

On both occasions my body was telling me, “I don’t want anything to eat.” On both occasions I had to ignore this message my body was sending to me and I just had to force feed myself something in order to recover and have the energy needed for the day.

Physical food is one thing, but there is another type of food that we need? Spiritual food.

If we starve ourselves of spiritual food, then how will we stand up to the pressures of life?

Sometimes we may not have much of an appetite for healthy spiritual food, but are there times when we just need to force feed ourselves the spiritual food that we need?

Are there times when we just have to tell ourselves to just seek our Heavenly Fathers face, even though it might be the last thing that we want to do?

I’ve heard it said that prayer, the word and fellowship are like a three legged stool. With all three in place the stool is stable and can be sat on. Take one of those three legs away and the stool just falls over.

Prayer.
Talking to your Heavenly Father, and hearing His words back to you.

The Word.
Reading your bible, and hearing what God is speaking to you through what you read.

Fellowship.
Meeting with fellow believers in order to share what God has been speaking to you, and also to hear what God has been speaking to others. In good fellowship we can uphold others while they also uphold us.

Prayer, the word and fellowship are three forms of spiritual food that will nourish us if we can feed ourselves with them. Hopefully we won’t always need to force feed ourselves these spiritual foods, but sometimes we might have to just do this in order to remain fit and healthy, in Our Lord God Almighty.

Father,
Help all to come to You, to receive all the goodness that You have for us.
Thank you that You are there to lead, guide and nourish us with all the blessings that You have for us.
Our Loving Father in Heaven.
Amen.

Categories
Uncategorized

Take it with you.

I had yet another strange dream the other night. (I don’t think I’m eating too much cheese before I go to bed. 🙂 )
I’ll share as much of the dream as I can remember, even though I don’t fully understand certain parts of it in the hope that it might be just what someone needs to hear. (With a better interpretation than I currently have :-))

In the dream I was in a queue waiting to purchase an electric bicycle. The queue was not on the ground though. We were all on wooden wall bars, like the ones I remember from school times.
There was a ledge somewhere where I was putting my extra purchase of a fancy lock and other bits for the bike I was about to buy. As the queue moved along I would move my purchases along the ledge, just like everyone else was doing.
In the dream it all seamed perfectly normal, but looking back at it now, it seems utterly mad.

The next thing I remember is being at the till.
I paid for the electric bicycle and then went onto pay for my extra purchases, which included the fancy lock. The lock needed some explaining on how you use it. The sales assistant duly gave a demonstration on how the lock worked, then put everything in a bag and then sent me on my way.

I was then walking down the street looking through my bag at all the items I had bought, with a bit of excitement.
All of a sudden I realised that I didn’t have the electric bicycle with me, that I had just bought. ?????
As I turned round to go back to the shop, the sales assistant was suddenly present with the electric bicycle. Then I woke up.

My first thought was, what was that all about???

I then had a thought, if you don’t take Jesus with you, then what’s the point? It’s like buying a bike and then leaving at the shop as you walk out.

OK, let’s just ponder that one for a bit.
If you do great things for God, but you don’t have God with you, then what benefit do you have?
If you have a great program of events to do for God, but you don’t have God with you, then how much value do you have?
Could these things be thought of as having bought and paid for a bike, and then leaving it at the shop?
If you are doing something for God, then make sure that you keep in step with Him. Don’t go running off leaving the One who it’s all about behind.

There is a bible passage that comes to mind as I’ve been thinking on this, it is…

1 Corinthians 13-3.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

The importance of having Jesus with us wherever we go is something that we should never let go of. I have a previous post that follows something of this thought process called, “Don’t get carried away, instead get carried along“.

I do think that it is relevant that the sales assistant was suddenly there the moment that I turned to go back.
God is waiting for us to turn to Him.
The moment that we acknowledge that we have gone wrong and turn to seek Him, then no sooner is He there to help, lead and guide us in the way we should go. Just like the Father in the prodigal son, who runs to greet, and welcome back his wayward son. Luke 15: 11-32

I do think that it is relevant that the bike was an electric bicycle. Yes, it’s another post I’m going to point to for the answer as to why.
The Electric Bike Sermon, part 1
Brief summary of that post.
There are 2 ways to live. With God and without.
The electric bike is with God where as a normal bike is without.
On a normal bike headwinds and hills could cause you to want to give up, where as on an electric bike, you just have that little extra help to see you through it all. Just like being a Christian means that you have access to One who can be the help you need to see you through ……….

The strange way of queuing still has me a bit baffled. It can only make any kind of sense to me if I consider that the electric bike represents Jesus coming into the life of the purchaser. Then is it a picture of how people could be feeling without Jesus in their lives?
Just hanging on in there, just the same as everybody else, not quite sure of what’s going on around us, but just going with the flow all the same??? (I told you it had me just a bit baffled :-))

The good news Is that if you are in the queue waiting to meet with Jesus, then He is ready, and just waiting to meet with you.
You just need to say Yes to Him, and He will then lead and guide you in the way that it is best for you to go.
As The Wannabe Christian Doorman, I can only encourage you to say Yes to Him, for He is …….
The Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.
The one who is above all and knows all and is in all.
He is The One who Loves you with an everlasting Love that goes on beyond measure.
He is just waiting for you to ask Him into your life, so that He can then be all that you need Him to be, for you.

If you haven’t already asked Jesus to come into your life then I do encourage you to do so. The starting point could be to say the words below.
Jesus,
I ask you to come into my life.
Help me to know You, to hear your words to me and to follow You and your ways.
Amen.

Categories
Uncategorized

Yet another Stange Dream

Last week’s post came from, another strange dream.

In the dream I was at work, trying to complete a task that was new to me.
As it was new to me, I was doing rather badly at the task.
I didn’t quite know what I was doing. I kind of knew what to do, but I just hadn’t put everything together.
My supervisor was loosing his patience, and he was letting me know just what he thought of me.

In the dream I kind of thought, “The heck with you. Do I care what you think? I’ll do this at my own pace and you can either like if or lump it.”

I think I can sum this response up as defiance.
I am not going to let you upset me.
It was in effect, putting on the old armour. Creating a hard skin, so as not to be hurt by the supervisor.

Hence the post, “Will you Remove your Ancient Armour, and Replace it with God’s Armour?” was written.

I do think that there is a value to the dream all on its own, hence my sharing it now.

Defiance is a hardening that we can be subjected to, if we are attacked in some way.
If we put defiance on too closely, then can it become the ancient armour I wrote about last week?

Sometimes we may need to hand ……. over to our Loving Heavenly Father, so that we do not let the defiance in us, define who we are.

So is there a better response that I could have had in the dream?
Accept, Repent and Forgive ???
Could doing the process of accept, repent and forgive be putting on God’s armour???

In the dream, I do think that I was in the position of potential instead of neat and tidy. I had the potential to be better, but I needed time to learn.
Time my supervisor didn’t have, and hence his response.

Can we, at times, take on the role of the supervisor?
Can we sometimes be more concerned with the task being completed than the individual who is trying their best? (If they are indeed trying their best.)
If we are in the role of the supervisor then can we try to be a supervisor that will inspire people to give their best? Instead of causing hurt and defiance, can we bring help and blessings?

Father,
Help us your hear the words that you are speaking to us.
Help us to hand anything that You ask for over to You.
If we are in a position of leading someone, then help us to do it in a way that will bring the best out of them.
Help us to have a positive impact wherever we are and in whatever we are doing.
Amen.

Categories
Uncategorized

Will you Remove your Ancient Armour, and Replace it with God’s Armour?

I see before me an individual dressed in a suit of armour.
It offers protection to the one who wears it, but there are draw backs to the amour. It’s armour that won’t come off, so it is taken everywhere the owner goes.

The armour does offer some protection, but there is a price to be paid. Hugs in a suit of armour are never quite the same. (For both hugger and hugee.) The weight of the armour can be very heavy at times and can slow down the one dressed in it. The armour is not a perfect fit, and as such it rubs against the skin, causing sores all of its own, not to mention any hurts it’s covering up.

You may feel that you need your armour, but there is a better alternative, God’s Armour!

Where your armour may be made from iron and steel, God’s Armour employs a force field technology. It’s so light you won’t even know that you are wearing it. You can move about freely, completely unhindered.
But when it is needed, then a force field is projected that is soooo much stronger than anything iron and steel can offer. It’s also put in place at just the right moment so you can have full protection without the hindrance of the old.

In order to put on this new armour, the old must first be removed.

This may be a pain full thing to do. Your Loving Heavenly Father can provide for you a protected changing room to do this.
Follow His prompting, and He will lead and guide you to where it is safe to make the exchange.
He will remove the burden of the old, as you hand it to Him.
He Will then bring a healing and cleaning touch to the wounds that have been hidden for too long. He will restore and renew you, as you allow Him to.
He will then dress you in the new armour.
It may feel strange for a while, until you become accustomed to the new, but it will be so much better than the old. You will be able to experience life to the full, not held back or obscured by anything from the past.
You will be as you are meant to be.

As Christians, all we need to do your put on this new armour is to follow His prompting to us. When He asks us your hand something over to Him, then hand it over to Him. It will be for your benefit.

If you are not a Christian, then in an instant you can be, and then you too can have access to this armour.
You just need to say yes to God.
You just need to ask Him into your life, to lead and guide you in the way you should go.
To say Yes to your Loving Heavenly Father will be the best choice you can ever make.

Categories
Uncategorized

Potential instead of Neat and Tidy…. On a personal level.

I wrote about potential being more important than neat and tidy a couple of weeks back. That post centred on potential in the church. (Link here.)

As I have shared this thought with other people, the thought has developed a bit, onto a personal level.

So, in our own lives, will we favour neat and tidy over potential for development?

It’s like, we can have boxes stored away in the cupboard, of our lives, all neat and tidy. Then God comes along and says to us,
“That box that you have stored away so tidily, take it out and pour it’s contents all over the table, and then we can have a look at it.”

If you are anything like me, then this could cause you a little (or a lot) of discomfort. But our Loving Heavenly Father is more concerned about our potential, and our overall well being, rather than a small amount of discomfort.

You see, there are some things that He will put His finger on and tell us that they are for the bin. (He will help us with the disposal process.)
He may then take two pieces at opposite ends of the table and then bring them together and explain to us how they are meant to be this way.
He may then do many things with the contents, some of which may make immediate sense, and other actions that may need a bit of time for us to see the reason.

In short He will make a masterpiece out of the contents of the box which we would have rather kept locked away. But for this masterpiece to be made, we need to hand the box over to Him and allow Him to have His way with it.

So when He asks for something in our lives, whether it be large or small, will we hand it over to Him.
Will we allow Him to have His way in our lives, so that He can then make us closer to the masterpiece that He sees that we could be?

Father,
Help us to always say yes to You.
Help us to be willing to let You have Your way in our lives.
Help us to know that we can trust You, for You do have our best interests at heart.
Amen.

Categories
Uncategorized

Are we Distracted by Pretty Lights?

As I sat down with my morning cup of tea, I absently minded reached over to pick up my tablet to look at ……. ,when the thought “Why don’t you put that down and talk to me instead” came you my mind.

OK, put that down.
Sorry Lord, you should be the first thought on my mind, but so many times You are not. I can only say sorry.

Then the thought, “Are you so easily distracted by pretty lights?” Came to my mind.

The answer should be no, but clearly I am. 😦

There are just so many pretty lights calling out for my attention.
Tablet, smart phone, games of many kinds and the biggest of them all, probably the TV.
As I said, so many pretty lights calling out for my attention.

So what do all these pretty lights give to me?

On the most part, they give to me a distraction, a passing of the time.
I know some pretty lights can be useful, such as reading something that draws you closer to God. (Such as a post like this one ….. maybe 🙂 )
But how many times do we just whittle away the hours by just being distracted by all them pretty lights?

Are we sooo drawn to them that we can end being like the fly caught in the glare of the fly zapper, being drawn to its end?

Could we do better?

Could we put them pretty lights down and spend some time with our Loving Heavenly Father instead?
(Could we end up writing a post about the distractions of pretty lights? 🙂 )

When all is said and done, what are we doing with our time?
Are we allowing ourselves to just be distracted or are we doing something that is worth while?
Are we going to do something that will last?
Investing time in your eternal resting place is always going to be a good investment! Or to put it another way, spending time with your Loving Heavenly Father in the here and now is always going you be a worth while thing to do.

Father,
I am sorry that I am so easily distracted by pretty lights.
I am sorry that so many times I just go looking for them, instead of seeking You.
Please help me your be more aware of You, all the time.
Help me to hear Your words to me, that much better, so that I can then put them into action.
Amen.

Categories
Uncategorized

What can the Kingdom of Heaven be Likened to?

This is going to be a picture which is a bit similar to a parable given by Jesus. This is a variation of the picture, so please don’t go looking for this version in the bible, you won’t find it. 🙂

The Kingdom of Heaven can be likened to a very rich man’s mansion, out in the country side.

Inside the mansion was the most exquisite luxury.
No expense had been spared. Everything was the best, but also everything was tastefully done. There was a real class to all that had been done, no tackiness could be found anywhere.

Outside the mansion, it was a different story.
It was in the country side. It was also a wet boggy type of terrain. Not to mention the many cows that roamed the land, leaving behind the inevitable cow pats.

Everyone who walked about in the country side couldn’t help but have the mud stick to them. All had fallen over or slipped in the mud at some point in time. Many had fallen foul of the many cow pats that littered the land.
Many would clean themselves in the river. But it was a muddy river, and as soon as one left the river, well, they were back in the muddy terrain all over again.

The rich man had a very kind and generous heart and he wanted to share all that he had with everyone. But how could he? If he opened the doors to his mansion and let all come in, then in moments his home would be destroyed by the dirt, mud and cow pats of anyone who entered.

So the rich man put a plan into action.
He put an extension to his mansion at the entrance. He had a washroom added.
It was done at a great expense. But put in place it was.

Now the rich man had the means to invite the people outside his mansion, in. And invite them in he did.

He showed them to the washroom were they could be cleaned of all the dirt, mud and cow pats that covered them. He then also gave them fresh new clothes of the finest quality and warmly welcomed his guests in. “Come, enjoy and share in all the goodness that I have” the rich man would exclaim, with great gladness in his heart.

All who entered by the washroom could now freely enjoy all that the rich man had for all time. There was no limit to the rich man’s generosity for all who entered by the washroom.

Now let’s suppose that someone had managed to enter the mansion by a different route other than the washroom. (I know that this would be an impossibly as the rich man also had the best security that could be obtained.) But let’s suppose this scenario happened.

How would the one who entered by the wrong route feel?
How would you feel if it was you?
How would you feel if you were covered in all the dirt, mud and cow pats of outside, in an absolutely luxurious surroundings?
How would you feel knowing that you stank to the highest order, and nobody else did?

How would the rich man respond to you?

Would he possibly say, “Friend, you are welcome to enjoy all that I have, but you must enter by the washroom. It was put in place at great expense just for you, so that you could join me.”
(Strictly speaking, this part is not in the parables that Jesus spoke, but I do believe that it would be the Father’s heart.)

If one who was challenged (who was covered in dirt) then said, “I don’t need any wash room. I’m going to enjoy some of that fine food over there, then I’m going to sit on the fine white sofa and put my feet up on that table.” Then how will the rich man respond?

The rich man would then summon his security (which was the best of the best) and have the intruder bound hand and foot and thrown outside, were there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth. (That bit can be found in Jesus’s parables. (Matthew 22:13 for the bible version.))

I do believe that heaven and hell are true realities and that one day, every one will enter one or the other.

We all start off in the country side in the picture.
We all are covered in the dirt and muck of our surroundings.
We all need to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (the mansion) by the washroom.

The washroom in the picture is Jesus, the Lamb of God who has paid the price for all that we have done wrong.

In order to be cleaned, all we need to do is come to Jesus, to accept and acknowledge Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and then ask Him to enter our hearts and lives.
We most probably have things to repent of, (say sorry for and try to turn away from) but Jesus invites us to come just as we are.
We don’t need to keep going to the muddy river to try to make ourselves good enough for God. No, God tells us to go to Jesus and He WILL cleanse us.

John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

If you haven’t already asked Jesus into your heart and life, then please do consider doing so.
It will be the best decision you’ll ever make to enter on into His Kingdom and His Love.
All you need to do is to say “Yes” to Him, Our Lord God Almighty.