Our greatest moments on earth are but shadows of the glory that awaits us in Heaven. Daydreaming about the life hereafter with Jesus is not only Biblical, it is also one of the best mood-lifters and perspective-shifters humankind has ever known. Here are 10 dazzling, exciting, and comforting things to ponder about Heaven. When you take the time to remember the splendor for which we were intended, the road now becomes smoother and final passage later will be less about fear and more about anticipation.

Just as our spines are designed to be the balancing rod of our bodies, so our spiritual backbones are intended to keep our souls pointed in the right direction. Having a spiritual backbone is making peace with your weaknesses, not ignoring them or indulging them, and then letting Jesus transform them into a strong collection of dynamic characteristics that move in concert to more fully believe, trust and love God.

Sometimes the things we think we need are exactly the things which hold us back. The shoes of comfort, obligation, and skepticism only keep us from sensing the Truth and responding to the direction of the Holy Spirit. The layers in our lives may feel good and seem to promise protection. They may have even served a good purpose for a season. But anything that keeps our souls from being bare before Jesus, will eventually be targeted for removal by the Master Surgeon. As a believer in Jesus, your spiritual feet are already standing on the road to glory, but moving forward means leaving your shoes of self-preservation far behind.

Most habits and routines happen automatically, but the very things we don’t usually think about are some of the most critical things we should actually spend time thinking about. The force of our habits and routines is powerful, but Scripture offers a prescription for not only bringing them under control but also harnessing their potential for our spiritual good.

The time we have on earth is a lot like living in a big backyard surrounded by an unscalable wooden fence. But every now and then, we are blessed to come upon a knothole that gives us a glimpse into God’s miraculous work behind the scenes on our behalf. Prayerful stillness is one of the best ways to find knotholes, especially if you find yourself sitting in the backyard staring in frustration at the fence line, instead of flourishing where God has placed you. Regardless of busyness or people's expectations, Jesus modeled how to cultivate an intimacy with our heavenly Father.

While self-sacrifice is a hallmark of a fruitful Christian life, God doesn't ask us to make it the aim of our relationship with Him. Instead, Jesus makes it clear that the ultimate goal of our relationship with Him should be delight and pleasure for His glory. When we find ourselves in the rut of duty and self-denial as the end game — a way of just checking off the spiritual to-do list — we are in dangerous territory. When we commit our hearts to loving Him above all else, He does all the work to make us truly happy about that decision.

Sometimes an amazing opportunity or idea can appear at what seems like the perfect time and be naturally aligned with your talents, but it turns out to be a mistake. In John 15, Jesus reveals both the key to letting God make the decisions for our lives and the rewards of doing so. Once we get to the end of ourselves and learn to rely on Him for our decision making, we’ll find the beginning of the life He actually intends for us and the wisdom to pursue it.

When we cram all our “rest” into Sundays, versus making it a daily lifestyle, we squeeze out the room for God to show up all week long. If you don’t have any margin in your daily schedule, you won’t have any space for God to move freely in your life. Reduce stress, increase your contentment, and experience God more deeply when you incorporate Sabbath margin.

In every one of life’s trials, we have the opportunity to view everything that happens through the lens of a belief in a sovereign and loving God, or through our own human perspective. No matter what particular issue scares you or worries you the most, the challenge is the same: how to trust God and effectively receive His supernatural peace and contentment in any type of hardship or struggle. Temptations are Satan’s counterfeits of God’s promises. But in either case — temptation or promise — we don’t experience the ultimate outcome until we’ve actually committed the act.

We are challenged in encounters with people on a daily basis. Whether it’s a frustrating person you barely know, someone you deeply love, or anyone in between those two extremes, most of us struggle with loving them the way Jesus would. The solution lies in truly believing that people can change and then following through on that belief in our actions towards others. Read more: www.coreradiate.com/blog/god-changes-people