Lonnie Honeycutt’s been to eternity and back

Lonnie Honeycutt is glad he didn’t read Don Piper’s 90 Minutes in Heaven until after his own near-death experience. What Piper wrote in his book about the things he saw in heaven closely paralleled what Honeycutt saw as well. “He and I come from totally different theological backgrounds, but his experience so mimicked mine I was weeping when I read his account,” says Honeycutt, whose visit to heaven occurred when he died in the hospital two years ago.

A charismatic pastor, Honeycutt was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2007. He was rushed to the emergency room on Feb. 16, 2008, and although doctors later told Honeycutt’s wife he was brain-dead, he insists he was very much alive—in heaven.

In the book he self-published last year, he tells of being escorted down a street of translucent gold by three angels. “While on this road I experienced something that I’ve rarely experienced here on Earth: peace,” Honeycutt says. “Peace that is literally beyond human comprehension.”

Among those he met was his mother-in-law, who had died more than 30 years before. She used a pet nickname for his wife, Dawn, and gave him a personal message for her. When he related it to Dawn, she burst into tears. He says he received other messages to deliver to people he had never met yet later encountered in different places. All six proved to be meaningful. “If you think it’s strange to tell people you died and went to heaven, imagine telling them you have a message for them from heaven,” he says.

Today the 44-year-old pastor says thoughts of returning to heaven keep him on the straight and narrow. He thinks of heaven daily and lives with a deep trust that God’s will is going to prevail.

Author Richard Sigmund recounts his experience

Richard Sigmund says the extensive details about the eternal realm in his book My Time in Heaven stem from his photographic memory and from taping his recollections. The latter he did upon being released from the hospital after an October 1974 car crash that he says sent him to heaven.

“It was so real,” says Sigmund, whose first book on eternity was titled A Place Called Heaven. “You don’t forget.”

Among the more moving encounters he relates is seeing his name written in the Lamb’s book of life (see Rev. 21:27) in 3-inch-high golden letters outlined in crimson. He also saw his name engraved on a chair for the marriage feast of the Lamb (see Rev. 19:9). Jesus told him that it wasn’t time yet to be seated.

The Iowa-based evangelist says far more could’ve been told in his book. “Did I get to see Jesus? The answer is yes. Will I tell about it? No. Some things are just private. Did I see angels? Yes—it still happens; but I don’t talk about it much. People think you’re off the deep end.”

One thing he will say is that heaven will be a place of vibrant activity. He describes seeing thousands of houses, some still under construction; people painting; people creating flawless furniture. Sigmund also saw the new Jerusalem, the jeweled city described in Revelation 21-22, although he says he went only to the edge of it.

Today, thoughts of returning to heaven dominate the mind of the aging evangelist, who must stay close to his home to take kidney dialysis three times a week. “I get up every day thinking, Is this the day I go back?” Sigmund says. “I have a lot of aches and pains because of dialysis, but the things of life grow mighty dim next to heaven. It’s very real to me.”

What the Bible says about heaven

Is. 11:9-10: Jesus’ “resting place” and where no one will be hurt or destroyed

Is. 65:17-19: Where crying will no longer be heard

Is. 66:22-23: Where God’s people will worship before Him forever

John 14:1-3: Where Jesus has gone to prepare a place for His people

Acts 7:55-56: It was visible to Stephen as he was being martyred

Rom. 8:18-25: Where earthly suffering will turn to glory

Eph. 2:6-7: Where God’s people will see “the exceeding riches of His grace”

1 Thess. 4:14-17: The place from which Jesus Himself will descend to Earth

Rev. 20:11-15: The site of the “great white throne” judgment to come

Rev. 21:1-22:6: Where the dazzling new Jerusalem is being prepared by God

This past week Rev. Jeremiah Wright emerged again from the ashes of obscurity to the spotlight. Like the mythical phoenix rising again from the fires of death, Wright is still politically alive after becoming a symbol of racism and division for mainstream America. His actions mirror his friend, Louis Farrakhan, who has recently attempted to malign Jews worldwide. The question I would like to answer here is, “How can such vehement hate mongers like Wright and Farrakhan survive so long in a land that longs so much for racial and religious equality?” Let’s explore the answer as we look at the current status of Rev. Wright. How did he arise again?

Wright recently taught a weeklong course at the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS). The school is a 150-year old institution affiliated with the United Church of Christ (UCC). As many may not remember, Rev. Wright’s former church (Trinity United Church of Christ) is the largest church in the UCC denomination. This denomination supports Rev. Wright’s assessment of America’s moral condition and motivations. CTS represents institutions that have continued to embrace the famed Chicago minister long after he dropped off the national radar.

CTS’s website carries this revealing description of their mission and worldview: “Since our beginning, Chicago Theological Seminary pushes at the growing boundaries of the church in order to make our faith relevant and transform our society in the image of justice.” It seems that this school’s understanding of “biblical justice” is very different from the views of other mainstream Protestant or evangelical churches. Groups with a socialistic view of politics and an affinity towards liberation theology are seemingly the only ones that have thrown their arms wide open to Jeremiah Wright.

The New York Times and Fox News carried several stories this week that have exposed Wright’s incendiary language. For example, the news outlets related his assessment of the civil rights movement; it “was always about becoming white,” Wright opined. Another quote was “White folk done took this country. You’re in their home and they’re going to let you know it.” Rev. Wright also compared the United States with apartheid South Africa during his CTS seminar. Finally, the former pastor told the class that they will never “be a brother to white folk.”

While the news outlets were shocked that the reverend was bold enough to repeat the same kind of rhetoric that almost derailed the president’s candidacy in 2008, those of us close to the ground recognize that Wright has continued to sing the same song anywhere he could for the last two years. In fact, earlier this year, Rev. Wright spoke to packed services at a D.C. church related to his United Church of Christ denomination.

How does he stay on the speaking circuit, despite his imbalanced rhetoric? It is very simple – he paints himself as a victim of the same system that he claims immorally persecutes others. Wright’s methods are as unorthodox as his message. Like Louis Farrakhan, he has learned to manipulate the media for his own gains. For example, in March 2010, a huge awards gala was conducted in Chicago. Wright presented himself as a political martyr and victim of a repressive, right wing machine. He even went so far as to award himself, Father Michael Pfleger, and Minister Louis Farrakhan with “Living Legend Awards.” Both local and national media carried the story of the awards gala. This kind of earned media was like giving Wright a huge “free” commercial. Such news stories are more credible to the average individual than spending millions of dollars on traditional commercials.

To my knowledge, Fox News was the only organization that disclosed the fact that the awards were actually given by an organization that Wright controls. Unfortunately, folks like Wright are pushing for people to return to race-based politics. In a Wright-oriented world, blacks would always vote Democrat and whites of both parties would not be trusted. He would advocate for gay marriage, gay clergy in Christian churches, and freedom for impoverished women to have government paid abortions. Further, he would cast America’s military interventions in crises all over the world as imperialistic and greed-based.

It’s time for the nation to move beyond Jeremiah Wright’s negativity and tackle the problems of race and generational poverty in America. Blacks and whites have to come together if we are to solve the nation’s biggest problems. Whites need to be willing to work with and for blacks and other minorities in business, and they need to elect more qualified blacks to public office. On the other hand, there will have to be some fundamental rethinking of principles and values in the black community. All minorities will have to decide how long they intend to live under the thumb of politicians who manipulate them with accusations of conspiracies and institutional racism – with no proof. One of the major signs that change is at the door is the fact that 31 African Americans are running for Congress in the Republican Party primaries in 2010. If just a third of these people win, there will be a shift in the racial dynamics of party politics.

Years ago, The High Impact Leadership Coalition developed an important document – “The Black Contract With America On Moral Values.” We said the blacks and whites should be able to come together on six critical points. Four of these arenas are still very important to our nation’s advancement such as: family protection, poverty alleviation/wealth creation, educational reform, and prison reform. True problem solving in these areas can lead to a better America, but the nation’s challenges will not solve themselves. We need some champions! A handful of people taking initiative can transform our nation for the better. What about you? Do you want to make a real difference? Perhaps the best way to articulate our personal choice is to ask the question: ” Do you want to be Wright …or Right?

“God bless America, my home
sweet home!”

“What in the world is that?” exclaimed my husband, Terry,
making a quick path out to the front porch.

We had just moved into a
summer rental house across the street from a sleepy park. But from the sounds of
it, the park was not so sleepy! The gazebo was filled with band members and a
rather buxom woman was at the microphone. She was belting out patriotic songs in
a high soprano voice.

“That’s Madeleine. She’s practicing her usual ‘God
Bless America’ and other patriotic songs for the 4th of July all-city picnic
tomorrow,” our neighbor Bill explained from his front porch.

“How nice,”
Terry and I replied in unison.

“Nice? That woman’s voice can break glass!
It’s like nails on chalkboard!”

Bill had a point. The voice did grate on
the nerves. Bill was plugging up his ears with two of his fingers. “This goes on
year after year,” he said and then quickly retreated into the silent confines of
his house.

I shuddered—not at the singer’s voice, but at Bill’s words
“year after year.” It made me wonder if any of us could be certain how many
years songs of God, country and freedom would be allowed to be performed
publicly.

We live in one of the few countries where religious freedom is
still the norm. But even so God is sometimes taken out of public ceremonies and
celebrations. How much longer until songs like “God Bless America” are
restricted completely?

“Lord,” I prayed silently, “what’s to become of
us? What can I, but one citizen, do to help the cause of freedom?”

The
still, small voice of the Lord answered my question with His Word: “Watch, stand
fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13, NKJV).

I also
thought of my favorite Bible passage, the account of Peter—a man who was sent to
prison for expressing his faith (see Acts 12). Peter’s situation seemed
hopeless. He was under the terrorism of four squads of soldiers, bound in chains
and kept between two guards. However, all the while, “Constant prayer was
offered to God for him by the church” (v. 5). The prayers of the people made a
difference—Peter was miraculously set free!

Prayer is how we “stand fast
in the faith.” It is access to God’s presence and power, so as believers in
Christ, we must pray! And just as the believers prayed for Peter’s
freedom, we must keep offering “constant prayer” for our country’s
freedom.

This 4th of July, I challenge you to not only spend time
celebrating with others, but to also make time to fellowship with our Lord,
thanking Him for letting freedom ring—now and in the years to come.

Before Kevin Cross turned 22 he’d received a bachelor’s degree in accounting, embezzled $300,000 from the government, been blackmailed by the mob and convicted of a felony. But Cross says the excitement of his cinematic life story doesn’t compare to the exhilarating life he now leads in Christ. He travels the country teaching that true riches can be found only through biblical financial stewardship. 

Cross says he spent most of his early years chasing riches. “My god was pleasure, and it was so satisfying. The problem is, it wears off like a drug,” says Cross, who is president of Cross Stewardship Ministries in Roswell, Ga.

He successfully embezzled more than $300,000 from a Florida sheriff’s office where Cross was an accountant. Members of the mob heard of Cross’ operations and threatened to kill his girlfriend if he didn’t embezzle $50,000 for them. After Cross stole more money for the mob, they turned him in for reward money. 

Cross said he hit rock bottom when he was sent to jail and finally surrendered his life to Christ. Despite his new faith, he was convicted of a felony, given 15 years probation, ordered to pay back almost $70,000 and found himself homeless and working dead-end jobs.

But for Cross the story didn’t end there. Not only did he get out of $100,000 in personal debt within five years, he also owned one of south Florida’s largest Christian-operated CPA firms for 17 years. He now hosts Margin and Means financial conferences that help attendees understand how to get out of debt and use their financial abundance to help others. 

“I learned that doing it my own way is not going to bring me the long-lasting pleasure like doing it God’s way,” Cross says. “I am compelled to show people the way to … the ultimate pleasure in the richest of all the treasures in Jesus Christ.”

On 300 acres of Colorado national forest, against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains, sits a $4.5 million lodge where Spirit-filled Vietnam veteran Dave Roever helps “wounded warriors” find solace from the trauma of war.

Every month about 30 soldiers—many of whom have lost limbs, eyes and other body parts—converge at Eagles Summit Ranch (ESR) in Westcliffe, Colo., to spend a week getting a respite from the wounds of war. Roever, whose face was disfigured in combat during the Vietnam War when a grenade exploded in his hand, says the main objective of the week is to teach service men and women how to cope with physical, mental and emotional challenges by publicly sharing their stories. At the end of each week, cadets stand before the Westcliffe community and other soldiers and discuss their war experiences.

Roever says the first phase of the program is “nonreligious,” and troops are taught basic public-speaking skills while working through their personal war experiences. In the second phase, troops can find more than emotional healing—some find spiritual healing as well. 

“We teach them prayer; we teach them how to turn these things over to Christ and say, ‘God I can’t do this without your help,’” says Roever, president of ESR. “When you see a warrior lying on the floor just broken before God, tears soaking the carpet, you join them down there. It’s so beautiful to see their heart turned over to Christ.”

Roever says his obvious war wounds—including the burns on his face, and his missing fingers and ear—usually open doors for him to share the gospel with the veterans.

“I tell them my story,” he says. “They hear all about the power of Christ that has delivered me. That gives them an introduction to the No. 1 greatest reason for my success: my faith in Christ.”

ESR facilities include numerous amenities such as hiking, horseback riding, fishing and an on-site rifle range. Soldiers also are provided gourmet meals and resortlike room accommodations. And though there is no charge, Roever admits the financial costs to keep the program running are steep.

“It’s very, very expensive,” he told Charisma. “It costs an arm and a leg.” 

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