16 GLAD TIDINGS AUGUST 2025 HEshe "never felt so loved and so cherished," adding, "God was every single molecule of love in the universe. He is love." "I wanted to sit on God's lap for all eternity," Barr continued. The now-retired nurse shared that while she was on His lap she saw what she believes to be Heaven. "I saw grass. It was this beautiful green grass. I could see every blade of this grass in this infinite meadow. It was perfect and precise," she described. "I see flowers...I could see every part of the flower, every vein of the petals...I saw grove upon grove of trees. I could see every tree, every branch, every leaf, and every vein on every leaf on each tree." "And I realized everything was moving, but it wasn't wind. The grass was singing. The grass was singing the praises of God. The flowers and the trees were moving to the songs of the grass...It was God moving through all those things. They moved in God's light," Barr added. "And it struck me at the time that even on the most beautiful day here on earth, what we see is a mere reflection of what exists in heaven," she writes in her book. Barr told Christian ministry 100 Huntley Street that this part of her experience "left the biggest impression on her." The Iowa native was sent back to earth and she now shares a message of hope to those who feel lost and unloved. "After I died, I knew Jesus was with me. I knew He was with me every step of the way and that no matter what happened...and this is one of the things he told me...your life is in good hands." He told her, "Good, bad,[or] indifferent, I'm here. Your life is in good hands." u Permission Granted/CBN HE IS REAL - Con’t ... It is our prayers, especially when we are struggling, that covers the Mercy Seat and prevents the judgment of God. Moses and Aaron were perfect examples of this. The incense was even involved in Numbers 16:45-47. The judgment of God in the form of a plague was rapidly sweeping across the congregation of Israel. Moses fell on his face before the Lord. The Lord then commanded Aaron to take a censer of coals and incense and run into the midst of the people. The plague stopped. It symbolized the cloud of Moses' prayer covering the people where God saw their sin no more. Incredible! We have that kind of power in prayer!!! Yet, it should be a fearful thing to realize our power in prayer. We have an awesome responsibility when we pray. We must learn only to pray as God would have us pray. Anything else would be for selfish gain and is a form of witchcraft. The reason for the afore mentioned plague was in conjunction with ungodly motives of men concerning the burning of incense (see Num. 16:17ff). I believe the prayers of selfish gain are also exemplified in Ezekiel 8:11-12. The Lord showed Ezekiel the hearts of the elders of Israel. He saw their idolatry.... you know, putting anything before God. These elders were burning incense to idols. In other words, when we pray for things we want rather than what God wants, we may be burning incense before the idols in our hearts. Back in Exodus 30:9-10, we see that we should never offer strange incense (or other items mentioned here) before the Lord. God gives specific rules about being careful what we offer on our altar of incense. I believe the Lord is telling us prayer is not the place to show off. Read Luke 18:9-14 and Matthew 6:5 to see how Jesus addressed this issue. I believe God is also telling us not to pray meaningless repetition to be heard for our many, eloquent words (see Matt. 6:7). Nor should we pray to simply see spiritual drunkenness, and other manifestations. (see Matt. 12:39). In other words, do not seek God for what He can do (other than forgive), but Who He is. We must learn to pray the Will of God since that is the only incense He recognizes. We can only do that by learning what His Will is; not only through studying the Word, but also by listening to Him. In Deuteronomy 33, Moses is pronouncing his blessing over each tribe of Israel. In reality, he was pronouncing the Will of God over each. He had spent enough time in prayer that he knew God's Will for them. In verse 10, speaking of the sons of Levi, he says they "shall put incense before" the Lord. The Levites were the chosen of the chosen. It was of the highest honor to be allowed to burn incense before the Lord. We should consider this about prayer. It is a blessing and honor to be allowed to have never ceasing conversation with the One Who flung the stars in place! The same God Who spoke with Moses, is the same God with Whom we speak. The same God Who told Noah to build an ark, is the same God with Whom we speak. The same God about Whom the Bible is written, is with us moment by moment, listening for us to speak with Him. Prayer is a privilege we should never take lightly. Yes, prayer sometimes feels self-sacrificing; but I think that is okay, too. After all, Jesus was our ultimate example of incense to our Father. Ephesians 5:2 speaking of Christ states, "and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." He is not asking us to die for the whole world as Christ did.... just to sacrifice ourselves through prayer. To give ourselves up to be with Him! What an incredible opportunity! u PRAYER - Con’t The Leaf People..... These come into your life for just a season. You can’t depend on them, they are weak. They only come to take what they want, then they leave. The Branch People..... They are strong, but break away when life becomes tough. They will stay a season, but will go when life becomes harder. The Root People..... These are very important people, they don’t do things to be seen. They stay during the difficult times, they will water you, they are not moved by your position, they take you as you are. Only the Root type of people will stay, no matter the season. Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. “You’re not supposed to talk out loud in church.” “Why? Who’s going to stop me?” Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, “See those two men standing by the door? They’re hushers.” u The 2 Ushers The 3 Types of People in Your Life Ralph Waldo Emerson “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.” Country Living
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