The Timeless Kingdom

Ever wonder about this whole idea of time? The longer I live the more I realize how much of my life is preoccupied with this idea of time. I became impatient a few hours ago because my wife was running a bit slow and didn't seem to be "on time". I wonder what time looks like when God's kingdom comes? Ever think about this whole idea of "eternity"? It says in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I found it interesting how this verse blends elements of time and eternity. Ever think about how time is a part of creation? Ever wonder what existence will look like after we die? Ever think of living in a timeless world? Hard to get your head around isn't it? Could it be that Heaven is a place where time does not exist?

I think that one of the keys to time is understanding that our view of time is different than God's perspective. We get a glimpse of it when Peter writes:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2Peter3:8)

Peter is not giving us a heaven-earth time conversion table.. he is saying that God's view of time is different than ours. I think that time is an earthly concept.. God exists outside of time.. it is why the writer of Hebrews says:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

It speaks to the agelessness of heaven.. Jesus doesn't age.. He is the same.. He doesn't get smarter.. He is all wise.. interesting isn't it?

So.. you might ask.. who cares about time.. how can understanding this help me? I think that we can develop patience in our lives when we live understanding that His kingdom is a timeless one. Whether He chooses to act today or tomorrow is somewhat irrelevant when we live in a timeless kingdom. I think that a preoccupation with time and timing is evidence that we are living in the visible kingdom and not His invisible kingdom.

The Apostle Paul writes one of the most amazing verses about time:

So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Again we see that God is mindful of time but not bound by it. In His sovereignty He sent Jesus at the perfect time. Interesting that Paul says "the fullness of the time".. as if God was peering into this time-bounded dimension where He saw the past and the future and determined the right time for Jesus to be born.. mind boggling isn't it?

When we live a kingdom oriented life we live a life filled with patience.. a life unoccupied and obsessed with time. We understand that God operates outside of time and brings things to pass in the fullness of time.

Living from Our Innermost Being

"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:38)

Over the past few years this verse has been a transforming one for me. In it Jesus speaks to us of our "innermost being".. other translations of this verse use the word "heart". I have written much here about the heart and sometimes have created a bit of confusion because many have a different perspective about the word heart and it's theological interpretations.. so today I want to focus on this idea of living from our innermost being.

I'd like to first reflect on two companion passages of scripture.. one in the Old Testament and one in the New.. one written by a king (Solomon) and one by an apostle (Paul):

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6)

It has always perplexed me how one can "ask in faith without any doubting".. until I began to better understand the inner life and how trusting God is all about living from my innermost being. When we live from this place.. this place within us where the Holy Spirit lives.. we live in a place of trust. I think that it is a good indication that we are leaning on and living from our own understanding when begin to doubt.. when fear captures our lives.

I think that we "acknowledge Him" when we live from our innermost being and not from our own understanding. Really.. when we following our own understanding we sadly only acknowledge ourselves. In a sense, this idea of acknowledging Him is best exemplified by Jesus when He says "From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." When life flows from within we begin to acknowledge God.

I am reminded of that time almost six years ago, when I was faced with the trauma of dealing with a crisis on the high seas, when my wife became paralyzed from the waist down after we boarded a cruise ship. I vividly remember the crisis and how God spoke to me about letting go.. He whispered these words to me:

"You cannot project manage your way out of this. You need to flow with Me in this and give up control".

Interesting how the Holy spirit spoke to me of flowing.. it was like He was speaking of my need to stop leaning on my own understanding and trust Him to flow from deep within me.

I guess control is the real issue.. isn't it? Several times the writers of the New Testament speak to the idea of quenching the Spirit. Does it amaze you that the Holy Spirit.. the third person of the Godhead.. can be stifled or quenched in our lives? I think that this idea is best exemplified in this passage:

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:12-14)

This passage captures the heart of of what it means to live from our innermost being. It speaks to the idea of receiving the Holy Spirit, being taught by Him, letting Him flow out of us in speech and discernment. It also speaks to how this stuff seems foolish when we live out of our own "natural" understanding.

I guess I need to end by saying that I am really a learner in all of this. I feel that I am only a few steps into this journey of living from my innermost being. My wife's illness and disability stretches me a little more each day.. it causes me to let go of my own limited understanding of life a bit more each day.. and I am enveloped in a peace and contentment that I didn't believe possible.. but not all of the time :)

Faith and Prosperity

The prosperity gospel is a subject that often surfaces in the blogosphere and often is accompanied by a lot of vitriol and controversy.. thought that these economic times might be a good time to discuss it here.

Christianity today recently highlighted two preachers who pastor two of the largest churches in America and their views on the subject:

For [Joel] Osteen, Prosperity Gospel isn't a pejorative term:

"Does God want us to be rich?" he asks. "When I hear that word rich, I think people say, 'Well, he's preaching that everybody's going to be a millionaire.' I don't think that's it." Rather, he explains, "I preach that anybody can improve their lives. I think God wants us to be prosperous. I think he wants us to be happy. To me, you need to have money to pay your bills. I think God wants us to send our kids to college. I think he wants us to be a blessing to other people. But I don't think I'd say God wants us to be rich. It's all relative, isn't it?"

On the other side is the guy whose church rounds out the "largest four" list:

"This idea that God wants everybody to be wealthy?", [Rick] Warren snorts. "There is a word for that: baloney. It's creating a false idol. You don't measure your self-worth by your net worth. I can show you millions of faithful followers of Christ who live in poverty. Why isn't everyone in the church a millionaire?"

Two interesting perspectives.. my thinking is somewhere in between.

I agree that God wants us to pay our bills.. also think that He doesn't want us to live above our means.. don't believe that God wants us to be slaves to our credit cards.. this is where many prosperity folks go wrong.

I think that God does want us to be happy.. if that happiness is accompanied by contentment.. really.. money and things can't make you happy.. again the prosperity folks mistakenly define "blessings" narrowly and create an illusion of a "right" to be blessed with things.

I also agree that God wants us to be a blessing to others.. but often money is not what people need most.. many times they need our compassion.. mostly they need us.. they need our presence.. they need the blessing of our time.

I do wonder who Warren is speaking of when he says:

"I can show you millions of faithful followers of Christ who live in poverty."

He is probably not speaking about folks that attend his church in Southern California. He might be speaking about folks who have had troubles.. health issues.. family tragedies.. folks in third world countries.. mostly he speaks the obvious.. the world is full of folks who are poor due to no fault of their own.. but I doubt that he would say "God wants you to be poor" to His church.

So what should a pastor say to the folks who they regularly speak to? Should they say "God wants you to be poor"?.. or "God wants you to be rich"?.. or should they simply offer scriptures that will cause folks to consider how they can best live a contented and responsible life?

Prayer Blog

I felt a bit inspired this morning watching my wife Ann receiving chemotherapy and decided to create a new blog dedicated to prayer. I am calling it Daily Prayer.. you can find it at http://praying.kansasbob.com. I will be keeping a prayer request list there as well as a list of answered prayers. Feel free to stop by, pray and leave a prayer request.

God and the Election

I received an email message this morning from Chip, my old friend, one-time church history teacher and missionary to Kenya that has some good thoughts about tomorrow's election. Here is the note in part:

Tomorrow is Election Day in the US. Scriptures indicate that God appoints kings, rulers and those in positions of authority in governments. I believe that in a democracy that means that God has appointed the citizens to rule and have authority. I don’t believe that God will get even one vote to cast on Tuesday. He has already made his choice – the citizens of the United States.

Although God does not vote in the election, please do so yourself if you are a US citizen. Chari, Amanda, and I have all voted already via absentee ballot. If we do not exercise our responsibility to vote, we are, in effect, abdicating the authority that God has bestowed upon us. I hope you can join us in praying that:

• God will grant the people of the US, wisdom, insight, and understanding to make good decisions

• The citizens of the USA will take their responsibility seriously to vote for the candidate of their choice

• Both those who are happy and those who are disappointed in the results, will reach out to each other and purposively engage in the process of dialog and collaboration to create policies, programmes, priorities, and procedures that will facilitate the wellbeing of people, both in the USA and around the world.

Please join me in saying an amen to Chip's prayer and making that trip to the voting booth if you have not already.

Heart Sin

This cartoon presents a common misinterpretation of Jesus words in the sermon on the mount where he says:

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

Someone might read these words and wonder.. if they are already committing adultery in their heart.. why not go through with the physical act? It is a good question - I think.. I mean really.. does anyone not recognize the difference between contemplating sin and actually committing it? Consider this passage from James:

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (James 1:13-16)

This passage paints a progression of sin that starts with the conception of sin and ends with it's birth. I think that it is important to understand that the heart sin that Jesus speaks about actually does end in a physical act of some sort. When he speaks of murder in our heart Jesus says:

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. (Matthew 5:22)

Notice that the inner feeling of anger is manifested in the person's speech. It is the same thing with all heart sin.. it will eventually manifest itself in outward sin.. and so often that sin is one done in secret.. such is the progression of lust.

I love how Jesus challenges us all in the sermon on the mount.. He speaks to the very real issue of heart sin.. He leaves us all without excuse.. but He doesn't actually equate inner sin with outer sin. Sin that has been conceived in the heart does not have to be birthed our flesh. Consider this passage:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

This speaks to our need to prevent the inner sin that has been conceived from being born.. it is a spiritual issue.. one in which spiritual weapons are needed.

Short Term Missions

The Barna Group has an article on their website titled Despite Benefits, Few Americans Have Experienced Short-Term Mission Trips. Here is an few excerpt from the article:

The label "life-changing" is pasted on many things, but the description fits most short-term service trips. Only one-quarter of those who have participated on such a trip said it was "just an experience," while a majority said it changed their life in some way. The most common areas of personal growth that people recall - even years later - include becoming more aware of other people’s struggles (25%), learning more about poverty, justice, or the world (16%), increasing compassion (11%), deepening or enriching their faith (9%), broadening their spiritual understanding (9%), and boosting their financial generosity (5%). Others mentioned the experience helped them feel more fulfilled, become more grateful, develop new friends, and pray more.

A few months ago I posted about my short-term mission to China. Thinking back on that trip I would have to say that the main result of that trip for me was that it helped me to gain a more global perspective of the kingdom of God. It caused me to develop a bit of compassion and empathy for people who struggle living out their faith in ungodly countries.

What about you? Have you ever gone on a short or long term mission trip? If so, how did the experience impact you? Would you do it again?

Waiting on the Lord

My blog friend Stephanie recently posted and quoted Psalm 40. I think that the first verse of that psalm speaks to the heart of trusting in the Lord when David writes:

"I waited patiently for the Lord"

If I have learned anything in difficult seasons it is that waiting on the Lord develops patience.. and that patience may not change my situation but eventually will change my attitude. Consider this passage of scripture:

For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:10-12)

I love how it says that God's promises are obtained through patience. This scripture also speaks to God being just and not forgetting the work of His children as they faithfully minister as they wait. I think that this idea of loving and ministering while we wait gets to the heart of what it means to wait on the Lord.

I heard it said a number of years ago that waiting on the Lord is not like waiting on a bus.. it is not a passive activity. Waiting on the Lord is an active process where we continue to minister.. continue to love.. and continue to trust the Lord as we pray. I love how patience is included as part of the Holy Spirit's influence in our lives:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

This passage speaks volumes about waiting on the Lord. As we wait the Spirit works in us.. in a sense this kind of fruit can only be developed during a period of actively waiting on the Lord. I think that any other form of waiting will bear a different kind of fruit.. bitter fruit.. angry fruit.. fruit that leads one away from the Lord.

If you find yourself in a difficult season of your life.. and I am currently in one.. my encouragement to you is to keep praying.. keep loving.. keep ministering to others.. and keep trusting in the Lord. You may not get what you want but you may get what you need.

Financial Slavery

I thought that, in these times of financial crisis, this post from July 2007 might be a good refresher on the things that can bring crisis to our homes and how we can escape the grip of the enemy in this area.

Dear friend, if you've gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, Friend, don't waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You're in that man's clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate. Don't procrastinate-- there's no time to lose. Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! (Proverbs 6:1-5 MSG)

If this wasn't written so clearly about in the bible I would be hesitant to write about it. The topic of money is something that is written about extensively in the scriptures and debt/credit specifically is addressed in this scripture as well as others. Credit and debt continues to devastate families all over the world.

My first real exposure to borrowing money came when I was in the Army. The day after payday and seemingly every day after until the next payday was filled with guys asking for a few bucks to get them by until payday. I never could understand it then and still have difficulty understanding it now why people can't live within their means.

I think that most people (at least the ones above the poverty line) do not have a problem of income but of outgo ... they do not restrain their spending - they buy things that they cannot afford. Why do you think that this is so? Here are a few reasons:

1. Hedonism: We live in a society demonstrative of the Nike Just Do It! motto. Unfortunately most of us just can't do what it is that we want to do and have difficulty making the hard choices of denying ourselves the things that make us feel so good but are so bad for us. Shopping, eating, drugging and gambling addictions are often hedonistic in nature.
   


2. Materialism: A bit like hedonism this one is a little different because the lust involved is not so much carnal as it is visual - we see something and we just have to have it. To that end we buy a new car instead of an older one. Our love of things enslaves us and takes over our finances.
   


3. Humanism: At the root of many of our problems is the idea that we are the center of the universe and money and resources belong to us. This is contrasted by stewardship - the idea that these are things that we are given to be used at His leading and for His purposes. Many religious people relegate ten percent of their resources to God but feel free to use the remaining ninety percent any way they choose.

These three 'ISMs' are the heart of this passage found in the bible:

Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world--wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important--has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out--but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. (1 John 2:15-17 MSG)

I adjure you my friends to heed the scripture in this area. Don't fall in love with things. Live within your means. Don't fall into the enemies trap and go into debt over cars, electronics and the many other lusts of life. Do all you can do to get yourselves free from the bondage of debt and keep yourselves free.

Guilt by Association

This week's Washington Post / Newsweek question to religious columnists is:

Obama and Wright. McCain and Keating. Palin and Muthee. To what extent is it right or wrong to judge candidates by the company they keep?

Here are a few excerpts from the responses:

If association with someone establishes guilt or similar condition, doctors who associate with sick people must be sick. Lawyers spending time with suspected criminals must be suspected of crime. Jesus was said to be a friend of sinners, then he must be suspected of being a sinner. -Gardner Calvin Taylor

Associations with persons and causes can be relevant when we size up a candidate, but only if the accuser makes or traces a valid pattern of behavior, attitude of mind or current position. We all change our minds, sometimes for the better, thank God. It's blindingly obvious to me at least that if there was ever a time to stay on the issues and try to deal with the awful mess we're in, it's now. Judgment works both ways, and I think a lot of us are going to judge candidates who lean heavily on guilt by association, a discredited American political idea if there ever was one. -William McD. Tully

It is also easy to condemn people unfairly for their acquaintances. "He keeps company with tax collectors and sinners," said the Pharisees about Jesus. Both McCain and Obama have repudiated the actions of these acquaintances, who have nothing to do with their campaigns and would have nothing to do with their administrations. Enough of this guilt by association campaign tactic. It is time to return to the issues that matter to the American people and the world. -Thomas J. Reese

I chose all three of these because they reference how the Pharisees judged Jesus according to the people that He hung around with. I also chose them because I tend to agree with the way that they answered the question.

How would you have answered he question?

Suicide and the Bible

Following is an excerpt from my blog friend Janna's excellent post titled The Bible and Suicide:

As Christians, it is important to know what the Bible says about suicide so we can offer some measure of comfort to those who mourn. The bottom line is this: Nowhere in the Bible does it say that a person goes to hell as a result of suicide. Any person who is in right standing with God (i.e. they have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior) is exempt from hell, whether or not they died with unconfessed sins. Most of us probably will die with unconfessed sin in our lives because oftentimes we don’t know we have sinned when it comes to matters of faith and adherence to every tidbit of God’s instruction for our lives.

I have turned off comments here but feel free to read the whole post and comment at Janna's place.

Christian Karma

A few years ago the My Name is Earl TV show resurfaced the old Eastern religion concept of karma. The basic idea of karma is embodied by the phrase "what goes around comes around". According to the wiki:

Through the law of karma, the effects of all deeds actively create past, present, and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to him/her and others.

The bible deals with this idea of cause and effect a bit different in the sixth chapter of Galatians when it says:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Now some take this scripture and skew it into a Christian-like karma taking the idea of sowing and reaping to formula-like proportions. I know many sincere believers who buy into it lock, stock and barrel. Oral Roberts made a lot of money 30 years ago or so when he sold this idea and called it "Seed Faith". The fallacy I see in this karma like concept of faith is three fold:

1. It embodies the notion that God always responds in formulaic fashion to our actions and giving.
   
2. It creates a carnality in giving and causes people who embrace it to feel that they earned blessings.
   
3. It causes people who experience hardship to blame themselves.. much like the thinking that Job and his friends embraced.

From my perspective these karma-like concepts negate the idea of grace and cause actions to be the products of faith instead of the byproducts of faith. The scripture in Galations is a simple one that simply says that when we respond to the Holy Spirit we sow eternal seeds and when we respond to our flesh we sow temporal seeds. That scripture has nothing to do with Christian karma.

The good news of the Christian gospel is that we do not get what we deserve. We have escaped from judgment by the blood of Christ. It is not karma that causes us to proper.. it is the Holy Spirit.. and sometimes "prospering" has little to do with the temporal aspects of life :)

Emerging Church

At a friend's request I posted my perpsective on the emerging church last November. I am still interested in this Christian movement and recently viewed this 10 minute video (above) at Alex's place. I recommend it to you. It will give you a brief overview of what the emerging church movement is all about and how the different streams of it don't alays agree with each other. If you watch it please let me know what you think of it.

For a Reason

Ever heard someone repeat this old cliché?

"Everything happens for a reason."

I am sure that you have. Last month I kicked this old cliché around with a few guys at Barnes and Noble over a latte. Thought about it today when I saw this cartoon and I remembered this passage of scripture:

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; (Romans 8:26-29)

There are a few things that I see about God's will in this passage:

• In our weakness and struggles the Holy Spirit intercedes for us so that God's will is acomplished in our lives.
• While He does not cause all things to happen, God causes all things to work together for our good so that His will is accomplished in our lives.
• His will for our lives is to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

I guess what I am seeing in this passage is that the reason that things happen is to make us like Jesus. That image of Jesus is encapsulated in these verses:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)

When difficult times and events come we can be sure that God is causing those things to make us loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. In reality, pain and struggle.. either our own or that of others.. are often the only things that will cause spiritual fruit to manifest in our lives.. perhaps that is part the reason that some things happen.

The Letter Kills

My Charismatic journey took me through years of living a life built around scriptural precepts and principles. Often I would say that the Holy Spirit was leading me when, in fact, I was being led by religious rules. It is a dangerous way to lead your life because it leans heavily on your head to instruct you. The apostle Paul identifies this danger when he writes:

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. [2 Corinthians 3:5-6]

Paul speaks of a sufficiency that cannot be discerned with your head. This sufficiency is one of the heart or spirit. He tells us that when we are led by the Spirit we are competent New Testament ministers. It is a simple idea but such a challenging one.

Paul also says in this passage that the letter kills.. did you catch that word - "kills". He could have said hurts, hinders or wounds but he chose the word kills. It strikes me how, when we live by the letter of the scripture, we live a sort of death.


Jesus, as He shared the sermon on the mount, spoke to this kind of death-living when He challenged the religious people of His day often saying:

You have heard that it was said” … “But I say to you”
Jesus took on the letter of murder, the letter of adultery, the letter of divorce, the letter of making an oath, the letter of vengeance, the letter of loving, the letter of judging others - and He spoke to them about the Spirit of those issues. He spoke to them of heart anger, heart lust, heart revenge and heart love. It was like He was telling them about how a healthy and whole heart would be life-giving.. and how a life lived by the letter of the law would be death-giving.. on a heart level.

I guess that is what I am trying to say. Those years that I lived by the letter of the scripture were years that I spent shutting down my heart.. my "spiritual life" was axiomatic.. I relied on my brain to lead me. I masqueraded my pseudo-spirituality with all sorts of Christian cliches and mumbo-jumbo.. and all the while the letter of my religion was slowly killing me on the inside.

I think that, in a sense, this kind of letter-driven behavior is encouraged by weak religious leaders who want to keep the flock under control. The sad part is that when we are under the control of the letter the influence and work of the Holy Spirit is quenched in our lives and in the church.. and the result is death and not life. I think that this is why so many leave traditional churches tired of heart-killing religion and looking for something that will ignite their hearts to real life.

No More Sorrow

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Revelation 21:1-5 ESV)

Sometimes when life becomes so unbearable it is good to remember that this life is.. as the scripture says.. but a vapor.. it is short-lived whether it is 43 years (as in the case of my first wife Ellen) or 143 years. It is a good thought to have as we reflect on the events in New York City seven years ago today. Yesterday morning as I prayed I was reminded of this verse from Hebrews:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Heb 12:1-3 ESV)

The thought that jumped out to me was that Jesus looked forward to joy after death. It is a comforting thought that there will one day be a manifestation of the inexpressible joy that Peter speaks of.

Coffee with Jesus

This 2 minute video hits way too close to home.

Not of this World

This morning I was reminded of these words that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Pontius Pilate:

"My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."

These words are ones that we (read that 'I') need to remember in this season of nationalistic politics and campaigning. In this election season we can all join together and pray the prayer Jesus taught us as we declare together:

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

This prayer is a great reminder that His kingdom has not yet come in full. We often pray this generic kind of prayer for God's will to come because we really don't not know what it is specifically. The apostle Paul says it this way in 1Corinthians:

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

I look back on my life and can see how many times I was wrong even though I was convinced that I knew God's will. I think that we often show our spiritual immaturity when we say that we know God's will. As Paul says, we know in part.. even prophetic words are often veiled in mystery. Many times God surprises us - just think about the incarnation of Jesus. Really, I think that it would be fair to say that almost all of Jesus' contemporaries didn't see Him in the messianic prophesies.. they certainly were seeing in a mirror dimly.

So, my brief admonition for all of us in this election season, and all other seasons, is to remember that our kingdom is not of this world.. we are citizens of heaven. Good to remember that though we vote for a president every four years a King was crowned from eternity past.

We Walk by Faith

This song so moved me this morning as I watched it on TV.. I am still crying.. I have been down for a long time. It is such a good thing to be reminded that our walk is not one of sight.. when our natural eyes only seem to see life's difficulties we need to remember that our life is a walk of faith in things unseen by natural eyes.

I Don’t Need A Boyfriend

I found a post at Challies blog that really resonated with me. My post title is copied from it. Here is an excerpt that captures the heart of my thinkings on this:

I don't want God to romance me. I don't want God to be my lover. I don't need a boyfriend. I want God to be a Father--to be my Father. And after all, isn't this exactly how He reveals Himself in the Bible? ... I see God as a Father or as a shepherd. I see God as one who loves gently and patiently, but not romantically. God loves me as my father loves me (though certainly more completely and more perfectly), but I don't expect either one of them to send me little love notes. If either one did, I don't quite know how I'd react, but I can only imagine that I'd be distinctly uncomfortable.
...
As I learn more about God from studying the Scripture, I see in greater clarity the paternal qualities of God. And I love to find these. I love to learn more about God as Father, about God as one who loves and who loves completely. And I see little to convince me that God wants to woo me, to romance me, or to act the part of a lover. And I like it this way.

I think that Challie says it better than I did when I posted about feminine worship. I think that guys are generally uncomfortable with much of the romance language used in some religious circles. The imagery of romance just doesn't seem to fit when speaking about our heavenly Father or heavenly Brother.. but maybe I am missing something.. maybe someone can help me see this from a different perspective?