Dr. C. S. LOVETT’S
MARANATHA FAMILY NEWSLETTER
September 2025
“Alone With Him” © 1974 by Linda Lovett
WHAT’S UP WITH HEAVEN?
When you get to heaven, what do you expect to see? All the believers sitting around on the SAME cloud, all having the SAME look on their faces, and all doing the SAME THING? Do you think of heaven as full of lookalikes? Or do you think there will be differences between believers? And if one Christian differs from another, how do you think those differences will be determined?
Not many Christians think in this way. Strange as it may seem, there are many believers who think everyone will be EQUAL in heaven. And that they may all be wearing crowns, sharing in Jesus’ throne, all having the same rank and privileges, and all being close to Jesus.
How many times have I said, “We will be no closer to Jesus in heaven than we are right now.” In spite of the fact that we are told “Draw nigh to God,” few bother to do it (James 4:8).
Salvation is free. That gets us in the door. That’s what gets us started on the new life. But after that, NOTHING IS FREE. We work for everything we get in heaven, the same as we do on earth. And when this life is over, we will appear before the Lord, and He will evaluate all we have done, and we will be rewarded accordingly. So how do we know there will be differences between believers in heaven? There’s going to be a judgment.
A JUDGMENT!
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10 NASB).
If Christians are all equal in heaven, receiving the SAME REWARD, why a judgment at all? There would be no point. But the Bible is very specific about this: “So then each one of us must give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). A day is coming when every believer’s life is going to be reviewed by God, and Christians will be rewarded or penalized. We enter heaven just as we are at the point of death—and NEVER CHANGE.
There are no makeup classes in heaven. The decision God makes on Judgment Day will be final and stand forever! That’s what prompted Paul to call it the “terror of the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:11 KJV). It is possible for a Christian to be poor. He will be in heaven among heaven’s poor. Despite all the glowing words you hear from pulpits about heaven, there will still be the HAVES and the HAVES NOTS. There is no way indifferent Christians can share equally with those who have put Christ ahead of families and everything else—and oh will they be sorry.
IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU WERE TAUGHT?
Did you think all Christians were automatically qualified for high positions in Jesus’ kingdom, simply because they were saved? Those jobs are reserved for those who work for them. Again, salvation is free, but nothing else is. And many are going to learn this too late. That’s a shame for they have had plenty of time to prepare for the final exam—THE JUDGMENT. Only at the judgment will they learn what it cost them to live for themselves and their families, rather than Jesus, but then it will be TOO LATE. A serious-minded believer cannot put babysitting and hours in front of a TV or working two jobs to acquire MORE THINGS, ahead of Jesus. He cannot put vacations, or even his wife, ahead of the Lord. He must be so committed that pleasing Jesus is more important to him than pleasing himself. If he can make that commitment, he will not be sorry. He’ll be amazed at the rank and position awaiting him.
A FATHER’S LOVE
I was raised without a father. My parents were divorced when I was a baby. I grew up longing for a father. I never had that privilege until I was 30 years old. That is when I was born of God’s Spirit, the day I was saved. The joy of having a Father at last to address was overwhelming. I was thrilled at being able to address someone as “Father.” I reveled in my newfound relationship with the Lord. It was fun having a Father who was so rich and famous.
In time, however, I began to take Him for granted. I fell into the practice of thinking about what I could get out of Him. I was so busy figuring out ways to PRAY AND GET THE ANSWERS. It never occurred to me that He might have needs too.
HOW TO MINISTER TO THE LORD
If you tend to think of God as a formal, stuffy Person, I hope you will get over it. Formality separates people. Try getting formal with your husband or wife and see what it does. It won’t draw you closer together. The Lord wants us to be ourselves around Him. He likes to have us INFORMAL, INTIMATE is a better world. After all, we are ONE SPIRIT with Him. That’s closer than being “ONE FLESH” with a wife (1Cor. 6:17).
Did not the apostle Paul teach us to address God as “Papa?” That’s the meaning of the Aramaic word, “Abba!” (Rom. 8:15). That is pretty informal. What I am suggesting is that when we pray, we set aside formality and try to love Him for Who He is.
There is absolutely NO LIMIT to His mercy. If you were to ask His forgiveness 100 times in a single day, it would not be too much for Him. And the last time He forgave, would be as wholehearted as the first. Beyond that, He has no favorites, showing no partiality whatsoever. He has no ups or downs, for He never changes. He is the “same yesterday, today, and forever!” (Heb. 13:8).
Sometimes I get so busy working FOR the Lord, I forget all about Him. Then my eye catches sight of my daughter’s painting of Jesus praying, and I STOP my work and take a moment for fellowship WITH HIM. I praise Him for His patience and understanding. I give Him the attention and praise He needs. The privilege of intimate fellowship with Jesus has been available since Pentecost, when the Lord Jesus came to indwell us via His Holy Spirit. On that day, a new experience became possible. “DRAW NIGH TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NIGH UNTO YOU” (James 4:8).
Another thing that makes me more attentive to the Lord is my personal witnessing. He says to us, “If a man loves me, he will obey me” (John 14:21). So I try to make my witnessing an ACT OF LOVE, a gift for Jesus. The discipline of it keeps His Spirit in touch with mine. That’s because there is no way to witness apart from the Holy Spirit.
REMEMBER—HE NEEDS YOU
I have shared with you three things that help me to be more attentive to Jesus: Linda’s painting, prayer, and simple acts of witnessing. But no matter how you choose to remind yourself of Him, make sure it draws your heart to Him, Someone Who desperately loves you and needs you. Make yourself aware of His SPECIFIC GLORIES such as His patience, gentleness, faithfulness, and mercy, and you will love Him for WHO HE IS rather than His abilities. We don’t love our children for their abilities, do we? No, we love them because they are ours. And so should it be with the Lord.
Rather than going to our Father only when we need something from Him, let’s develop the habit of going to Him because He NEEDS US, and then lavish our love and affection on Him. When you think what it does to His heart to have us come because we adore Him, and want to heap our praise on Him, something is added to our lives. . .
A PASSION FOR HIS PRESENCE!
C. S. Lovett
Copyright © 2025 Personal Christianity. All rights reserved.
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SINCE YOU ASKED!
QUESTION: “The Bible says, ‘Many are called but few are chosen’ (Matthew 22:14). Could you explain the difference between being called and being chosen?”
ANSWER: The Lord commissioned His disciples to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” By this command, it is clear God wanted everyone to hear the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus and take advantage of His offer. It was, in fact, a CALL to them to put their trust in Christ. So, everyone who hears the Gospel is called. Each person has a free will to make a choice.
Since the Gospel is an invitation to be saved, some accept the invitation and others don’t. Those who accept the invitation quickly learn from the Word that they are CHOSEN even before the foundation of the world. So, the chosen ones are those who heed the invitation, believe it, and put their trust in Jesus. The fact that God foreknew they would do this and entered their names in His Book of Life clearly shows He chose them by His foreknowledge. He knew they were going to accept His invitation, and His choice of them was based on that knowledge.
The Lord has provided tools for making you rich toward God. The tools are books. You may not believe books can be that powerful, but they are—especially when the Holy Spirit anoints them. Does not God use a BOOK for preserving His revelation? “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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RESOURCES
LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON ROMANS (2024): 360 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99.
LOVETTS LIGHTS ON ACTS (2023): 407 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99.
LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (2022) 372 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99.
LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON JOHN (2021): 381 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99.
WITNESSING MADE EASY (2019): 213 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $14.99.
DEALING WITH THE DEVIL (2018): 242 PAGES. Available on Amazon.com for $14.99.
THE PREPARED LIFE (2017): 159 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $13.99 and is also available on Kindle for $7.99.
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CONTACT US:
Please keep in touch and send us your prayer requests. You may contact us for more information regarding our ministry at:
Personal Christianity, PO Box 918, Middleton, ID 83644
626-338-7333
www.cslovettbooks.com
info@cslovettbooks.com
“Preparing for His Appearing” Since 1951
