The title sounds like something out of a science fiction movie…yet, it is not!

As we continue focusing on this year’s theme of “Heavenly Living,” I went back to the beginning for some insight. Here’s what the Book of the Beginnings (Genesis) says:

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:4-7, NIV).

…Now the earth was formless and empty… (Genesis 1:1-2, NIV). There were no shrubs, no plant life, until the rains came. Notice the flow of the rain when it did come – it didn’t come down; it came up! YES! The streams came up from the earth!

This place, this garden was like Heaven. There was no sin in the world yet, so it was a heavenly place…a heavenly garden. It was a place where God created and communed with mankind and where mankind walked with God in the cool of the day. This is truly a picture—a foreshadowing—of Heaven on earth.

Let’s look deeper into the above verse: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground.” The Hebrew word for “formed” commonly refers to the work of a potter who fashions or creates vessels from clay. Yes, He is the Potter; we are the clay!

Remember, the whole surface of the ground was being watered—streams of water were coming up, so that the formation of man could occur.

Everything created needs water to survive! Was God making us into mud-pies as we were being formed, before we were created into that vessel of honor that He calls us?

The imagery I see is water shooting up from the earth. I can almost hear the lines from the song, “Spring up, oh well, within my soul. Spring up, oh well, and make me whole.” The water was literally springing up in the garden of Eden.

When God formed us by His hands, we were made in the image of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity was present when man was created: “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26, NIV). We were handcrafted by God, from dust mixed with water, into a beautiful vessel.

The Spirit was preparing to descend. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2, NIV). Days later, God “breathed” into man’s nostrils the breath of life.

When God speaks, He breathes life. When God breathes on something, it lives!

The man became a living being—a heavenly being. Man is not a creature in a science fiction movie but a living being, full of Heaven within, destined to be free. When sin entered this garden, it entered through the man (Adam) created in the image of God. This perfect place, this perfect union between man and God, was now tainted by the sin of disobedience.

A Righteous Man Understood God’s Plan

Job, a righteous, blameless, upright man (he feared God and shunned evil) understood God’s plan for mankind. He said this:

• In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:10, NIV).
• But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding (Job 32:8, NIV).
• The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4, NIV).
• If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust (Job 34:14-15, NIV).

God, in His goodness, provided a way back to Him through a relationship with Jesus Christ! In this, He also preserved us! His plan from the very beginning was to preserve and protect us!

The Call to Preserve

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:19-22, NIV).

• What’s the new and living way? The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning (Hebrews 9:8, NIV).
• How do we get to the Most Holy Place? The disciples didn’t know where they were going. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NIV).

Be confident that the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross gives us access into Heaven and His heart and life – forever! He made the way for us to enter, and He preserves that by being in covenant with us! He is a Promise Keeper and Preserver!

New age teaching communicates that there are many ways to God. This is false teaching, a false doctrine, that we must stay far away from! This doctrine has confused people and defiled the truth of God’s Word! Let it be known: Jesus is the ONLY way, the Living Way!

How Free Are We

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though He is not far from any one of us. For IN HIM we live and move and have our being… (Acts 17:24-28, NIV).

When we seek Him (and reach for Him), He reaches out to us and makes us free. He so delights in moving through us. We actually become like Him! This Being has our life and being in Him!

Benefits of Being

First, and most importantly, we are His offspring! Yes, we are born as human beings. In Christ, we are then transformed as heavenly beings and called to live and move in Him.

• He is the very essence within our inner being. …love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years… (Deuteronomy 30:20, NIV).
• The New Testament says it this way: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4, NIV).

It’s time to hit the reset button! Let’s reset our hearts and minds on things above! That’s heavenly living!

Resetting On Things Above,
Mary Beth Pecora