149. Jewish Teen Dies, Meets Jesus and Returns As a New Person

Trigger warning for sensitive individuals: There is a mention of Heidi's emotional, spiritual, physical and sexual abuse in this episode. There is nothing explicit or detailed, it is simply referenced. The focus of our conversation is on healing, forgiveness and hope. and I pray this testimony will encourage every listener.

Heidi Barr was 16 when she died in a horseback riding accident and came face to face with Jesus. Raised in a small Orthodox Jewish community in Iowa, her atheist father had taught her that Jesus was a hoax. Heidi was so passionate about this Jesus she encountered that she graduated early and traveled to Israel for a year. She learned Hebrew and wanted to absorb everything she could related to Jesus.

In this episode we share from her new book, What I Saw in Heaven: 

• 00:00 Intro clip from Heidi's first testimony (full NDE is attached below)
• 04:12 Heidi shares how her testimony was received by her family and community
• 11:24 John Burke shares why Heidi's NDE is one of the most impactful he has received in his study of experiencers for over 35 years
• 15:35 Heidi shares more detail around the miracle healing of her physical injuries
• 22:24 Emotional, spiritual, physical and sexual abuse Heidi endured, culminating in a desperate prayer that God would let her die in a dark moment before her Jesus encounter
• 25:00 Experiencing the power of forgiveness her father at the very end of his life Reconciling her love for her Jewish culture with her new Christian beliefs
• 26:00 The deeply personal passing of her father - A powerful final message from Heidi to every listener about the living hope that we have in Jesus

Closing prayer and blessing by John Burke:

We have a LIVING HOPE in Jesus - 1 Peter 1:3-9 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

Heidi's new book: https://a.co/d/bIqln1U

• Heidi's website: NewHeaven.biz
• Heidi's episode on her full near death experience: https://youtu.be/9UaNrPoV8uY
• Heidi's episode around her hospice experiences and what she has seen with death visions in those passing: https://youtu.be/eZ-zvBJlNQQ

About John Burke:

• ª New York Times bestselling author - over one million books sold
• ª One of the world’s foremost NDE experts; has studied more than 1,000 NDEs for over 35 years
• ª Featured on Fox & Friends, The Kelly Files, Guideposts Magazine, CBN News, Focus on the Family, and many other national programs, to discuss the spiritual implications of NDEs
• ª Began his research into NDEs as an engineer and skeptical agnostic, yet eyewitness accounts forced him to ask, “Could this be real evidence – even possible proof – of God’s existence?”
• ª Founding pastor of Gateway church in Austin, TX – has spoken to audiences across 30 countries