January 2026

Good morning,

When God spoke creation into existence, He began with the heavens, followed by everything else. Picture it … the Creator standing in front of a universe-sized blank canvas, unleashing His majestic artistry!

Wow! What a show!

The heavens — that endless layer of unfathomable unknowns. A breathtaking design, weaving incalculable details with boundless wonders. A kaleidoscope of blazing colors, staggering complexities and unsolvable mysteries. An incomparable space-scape of divine secrets.

By the end of Day One, the universe was dancing endlessly in symphonic rhythm, under the direction of the Maestro Conductor. And, in the most colossal understatement of the day, "God saw that it was good." (Gen 1.10)

No wonder the psalmist said, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (14.1)

Other than sending His own Son, and the undeniable truths of Scripture, the heavens provide the most revealing and provocative clues about our God.

After all, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky displays the work of His hands." (Ps 19.1)

Now, merge those mental pictures with what Paul told the Corinthians: "I know a man … who fourteen years ago … was caught up to the third heaven" (2Cor 12.2). This was the only time in scripture when the humble apostle shared this incomparable event.

But what and where is this "third heaven?"

Who better to ask than NASA? After all, with a $25 billion annual budget, and 17,000 employees whose sole purpose is to search and document the sky, they should have the inside scoop on the third heaven.

Well, for starters, NASA prefers not to use the word heaven at all. They only classify two areas on the celestial map — the atmosphere and space.

Oh, don't get me wrong, they're super smart people. And they're terribly happy to provide details about the earth's multi-level atmosphere, and to showcase their spectacular photos from space.

But the third heaven, not so much.

Astronomy has boundaries. In fact, they've declared the Karman Line — the 62-mile marker above earth's surface — is where our atmosphere ends and endless space begins, leaving no room for a third heaven. As the famed astronomer Carl Sagan said, "The Cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be."

Science, it appears, is taking a pass on the third heaven. However, you and I know better.

Of the hundreds of times the word heaven appears in the English Bible, almost all of them are translated from just two words — the Hebrew word meaning "the heights" and the Greek word meaning "that which is above."

Digging deeper, Scripture is quick to identify the first two heavens. It speaks often of our earth's atmosphere (the first heaven) with its rain, snow, winds, thunder, frost, etc. (Is 55.9-11; Job 38.29; 1Sam 2.10) And it also recognizes outer space (the 2nd heaven), and its riveting wonders — the sun, moon, stars, constellations, etc. (Ps 8.3; 33.6; Is 13.10)

However, the third heaven is the most unique of all because it's the dwelling place of God. Heaven is His home. And yet, the Bible also says He can't be confined to just one location, "The heaven of heavens cannot contain our God" (1Kgs 8.27).

Teaching about heaven has its challenges because there's no earthly comparison to any of heaven's awe. Even when Paul told of his visit to the third heaven … he couldn't! He heard "inexpressible words" which "man is not permitted to speak."

And yet, Scripture is ripe with heaven's teaching points — the Old Testament begins with the Creator of heaven. The New Testament begins with the Savior coming down from heaven. And appropriately, the Bible's final book ends with an introductory course on heaven.

Few subjects can energize a tired church more than heaven. That's because seeing the future, even through dark glasses, reminds us to "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3.14).

Maybe NASA can't locate heaven, but we can sure help our people find it.

Blessings,