Heaven.
The other day my wife said, "I think I know what heaven is like." Then she went on to talk about the moment. We were at the dinner table and all was well. Homework done. Bath-time done. Dinner done. Now just restful time together as a family.
Theologically, I don't pretend to know much about heaven. Ezekiel and Paul had a tough time describing it (Ezekiel 1; I Corinthians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 12:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:10) and they SAW it, so I don't think it falls to me this day to expound upon what I know about this glorious place. There are many folks more educated and "Seminaried" than I who would have much to add.
I can say this...
In an email I received this morning:
"Not a day passes that God does not show His love and generosity here at the farm and in my life. I am so grateful and let Him know that often. Just shooting baskets by myself in the evening I certainly feel His Being. The good thing is if I let something slip, if I miss a shot I thought I should make, there is an immediate apology, and I feel an acceptance. That is as good as it gets."
I read that email, then I had the joy of sharing pancakes at my kitchen table with my wife and College students from the US, Ghana, Saint Lucia, Colombia, Kazakhstan and Congo. We laughed about stories from dramatically different childhoods. We listened intently to perspectives about God that, although we had never heard them, struck a common chord in our spirits. We reflected on the goodness and wisdom of God in His sovereign conduct of a process in each one of us that was bringing us closer to a promise. And we ate the best pancakes ever.
I don't pretend to know much about heaven. But in hoops, hotcakes or however, my heart is satisfied at just a taste.
Today I had a taste.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The "Next Gen" You
I was listening to an interview on the radio today with the President of a major aeronautical university in our area. He was talking about the technological advances being made in aviation, specifically in regard to communication and management of airspace.
He used the expression "Next Gen" in relation to the upcoming generation of technological advancements. And he said something that caught my ear.
He said that the expected developments wouldn't happen suddenly, as if someone flicked a light switch, but would happen gradually over time.
Isn't that the way that God works with us? Sure, we have the "suddenlies" but, more often than not, we gradually develop into the "next gen" of ourselves as we integrate more of Him into more of us.
John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30). It's a process.
One of my opt-repeated mantras is, "It's a marathon, not a sprint", and the truth is, we will get there if we keep pursuing Him.
There are seasons for launching out with fanfare and there are seasons for keeping the faith and staying the course. The challenge is knowing which to do when!
Thank God for: (1) the gentle command of His Holy Spirit, (2) the secure confirmation of His Word, and (3) the loving counsel of Godly friends.
As long as we are oriented towards Him, and alert to the signals from these 3 guides, we will experience the glorious Next Gen of us.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
He used the expression "Next Gen" in relation to the upcoming generation of technological advancements. And he said something that caught my ear.
He said that the expected developments wouldn't happen suddenly, as if someone flicked a light switch, but would happen gradually over time.
Isn't that the way that God works with us? Sure, we have the "suddenlies" but, more often than not, we gradually develop into the "next gen" of ourselves as we integrate more of Him into more of us.
John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30). It's a process.
One of my opt-repeated mantras is, "It's a marathon, not a sprint", and the truth is, we will get there if we keep pursuing Him.
There are seasons for launching out with fanfare and there are seasons for keeping the faith and staying the course. The challenge is knowing which to do when!
Thank God for: (1) the gentle command of His Holy Spirit, (2) the secure confirmation of His Word, and (3) the loving counsel of Godly friends.
As long as we are oriented towards Him, and alert to the signals from these 3 guides, we will experience the glorious Next Gen of us.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Greatest Gap of All
It's nice to know - and to see evidence - that we believe in God. But what a revelation to recognize how much God believes in us!
Let's look at the facts:
1) He placed us here, in an unfriendly environment (the enemy was already here!), and gave us a powerful mandate (Genesis 1:28),
2) He paid a precious price to buy us back,
3) He freed us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2),
4) He expects us to do what He did and greater! (John 14:12)
Wow. What faith He must have - in US!
No doubt there are significant gaps between the real and the ideal and the seen and the unseen, but there is no gap between what God expects and what is possible! He lives in a realm where anything is possible. He invites us to believe what He believes, to strive for what He sees, and to go where He leads!
The greatest gap is the gap between what we believe about ourselves and what God believes about us.
Bridge the gap by believing what God says about you and by acting on His Word!
Today's Daily Bread: Ephesians 1.
Let's look at the facts:
1) He placed us here, in an unfriendly environment (the enemy was already here!), and gave us a powerful mandate (Genesis 1:28),
2) He paid a precious price to buy us back,
3) He freed us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2),
4) He expects us to do what He did and greater! (John 14:12)
Wow. What faith He must have - in US!
No doubt there are significant gaps between the real and the ideal and the seen and the unseen, but there is no gap between what God expects and what is possible! He lives in a realm where anything is possible. He invites us to believe what He believes, to strive for what He sees, and to go where He leads!
The greatest gap is the gap between what we believe about ourselves and what God believes about us.
Bridge the gap by believing what God says about you and by acting on His Word!
Today's Daily Bread: Ephesians 1.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pray for patience? Think again.
James says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" (James 1:2-3).
If it's the testing of our faith that produces patience, then impatience must be untested faith!
If we are expecting our impatience to disappear, we've got to expect our faith to be tested. The impatience itself is a great indicator that our faith is weak in an area. It means we're not trusting God, we're rushing His process, or that we aren't confident He'll deliver what He promised.
Can you sense impatience in yourself? Ask God what aspect of your faith is being tested. Then pass the test! Don't worry, it's an open Book test!
Our prayers for more patience should be prayers for faith to sustain us through periods of impatience. Or, better yet, our faith and our confidence in the faithfulness of God should be sufficient to snuff out any smoldering impatience in our lives before the winds of doubt have opportunity to fan our impatience into deferred hope (Proverbs 13:12).
Winds of doubt without smoldering impatience are just a lot of hot air!
Faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). Turn the tables on your impatience. Don't let it discourage you, let it drive you to Him! In this, "all things work together..." (Romans 8:28).
Impatient? Seek the Lord. Pray for faith. Read the Word.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
If it's the testing of our faith that produces patience, then impatience must be untested faith!
If we are expecting our impatience to disappear, we've got to expect our faith to be tested. The impatience itself is a great indicator that our faith is weak in an area. It means we're not trusting God, we're rushing His process, or that we aren't confident He'll deliver what He promised.
Can you sense impatience in yourself? Ask God what aspect of your faith is being tested. Then pass the test! Don't worry, it's an open Book test!
Our prayers for more patience should be prayers for faith to sustain us through periods of impatience. Or, better yet, our faith and our confidence in the faithfulness of God should be sufficient to snuff out any smoldering impatience in our lives before the winds of doubt have opportunity to fan our impatience into deferred hope (Proverbs 13:12).
Winds of doubt without smoldering impatience are just a lot of hot air!
Faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). Turn the tables on your impatience. Don't let it discourage you, let it drive you to Him! In this, "all things work together..." (Romans 8:28).
Impatient? Seek the Lord. Pray for faith. Read the Word.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
"He's not a tame Lion."
This is a line oft-repeated in CS Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" series. Pastor Kris brought a word this morning that caused that line to resound over and over in my head.
Religion has sought to tame Him over the years. Restricting, even, our perspective of Who He is.
Our perspective of who WE are has been affected, too.
In these times, particularly in these times, it does us good to remember that He is the Lion of Judah. And the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead now lives in us (Galatians 2:20)! His is not a Spirit of tameness. And the Christian life isn't for wimps.
You were created to live in wild times. It is in your DNA. Scripture confirms that Adam was created in the wild and "placed" in the garden. That means it is in you to survive and to excel in wild times!
It seems like American Christians, as never before, have been able to conduct their Christian lives 99% faith-free. We have programs, safety nets, health plans, insurances, everything we need to guarantee that we won't fail.
Scripture makes this guarantee too. But it's conditional (2 Peter 1:10). Maybe that's why we choose the safe way.
Let there be no doubt: There is a "call to the wild". It's the Wild One in you, longing to stretch out and take some ground through you. How BIG is your God? Let Him be BIG in you!
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Religion has sought to tame Him over the years. Restricting, even, our perspective of Who He is.
Our perspective of who WE are has been affected, too.
In these times, particularly in these times, it does us good to remember that He is the Lion of Judah. And the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead now lives in us (Galatians 2:20)! His is not a Spirit of tameness. And the Christian life isn't for wimps.
You were created to live in wild times. It is in your DNA. Scripture confirms that Adam was created in the wild and "placed" in the garden. That means it is in you to survive and to excel in wild times!
It seems like American Christians, as never before, have been able to conduct their Christian lives 99% faith-free. We have programs, safety nets, health plans, insurances, everything we need to guarantee that we won't fail.
Scripture makes this guarantee too. But it's conditional (2 Peter 1:10). Maybe that's why we choose the safe way.
Let there be no doubt: There is a "call to the wild". It's the Wild One in you, longing to stretch out and take some ground through you. How BIG is your God? Let Him be BIG in you!
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Sin and Forgiveness
God established laws and principles to guide us in proper relationship with Him. Violation of these laws and principles makes our relationship with Him impossible or, at best, meaningless.
Sin allures with attractive promises, but gives nothing good. It is never satisfied.
It is an aggressive and progressive disease (James 1:14-15) that is accompanied by a constant babel that leads us to become deaf to the voice of our own conscience. What was not OK yesterday becomes OK today. Sin "bends" us to a shape that accommodates more sin. One Hebrew word translated as "sin" actually means "bent".
Romans 6:23 makes it clear that the only satisfactory price for sin is death. Death and only death can answer sin. No one can pay and survive. In fact, although blood is necessary to reconcile sin, our own blood is not good enough. Otherwise, bloody execution of the guilty would satisfy their debt.
Only the shed blood of a perfect sacrifice is sufficient to cover sin. Jesus was such a sacrifice.
Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Our acceptance and identity with His work settles our account. It is finished (John 19:30).
Another Hebrew root to the word "sin" is "turbulence". Isaiah makes reference to this in chapter 57, verse 20, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt."
Forgiveness calms our personal storm, by allowing the proper relationship with our Father to be restored.
Free from guilt, we must be people who understand what has been done for us.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Sin allures with attractive promises, but gives nothing good. It is never satisfied.
It is an aggressive and progressive disease (James 1:14-15) that is accompanied by a constant babel that leads us to become deaf to the voice of our own conscience. What was not OK yesterday becomes OK today. Sin "bends" us to a shape that accommodates more sin. One Hebrew word translated as "sin" actually means "bent".
Romans 6:23 makes it clear that the only satisfactory price for sin is death. Death and only death can answer sin. No one can pay and survive. In fact, although blood is necessary to reconcile sin, our own blood is not good enough. Otherwise, bloody execution of the guilty would satisfy their debt.
Only the shed blood of a perfect sacrifice is sufficient to cover sin. Jesus was such a sacrifice.
Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Our acceptance and identity with His work settles our account. It is finished (John 19:30).
Another Hebrew root to the word "sin" is "turbulence". Isaiah makes reference to this in chapter 57, verse 20, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt."
Forgiveness calms our personal storm, by allowing the proper relationship with our Father to be restored.
Free from guilt, we must be people who understand what has been done for us.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
One Thing
The extraordinary men of our time are not men that we define by the myriad of things that they accomplish in mediocrity, but by the one or two things at which they excel. They find their One Thing and give their all for it.
We see it in our professional sports stars and Olympic athletes "whose bodily exercise will profit a little" (I Timothy 4:8a), but also in people like Mother Teresa, whose "godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (I Timothy 4:8b).
We learn from their lives that there is an art to doing the One Thing really well. We must become such men for the eternal cause of Christ. That is our One Thing.
There is a "treasure in a field" to be stumbled upon, but there is also "a pearl of great price" which must be sought after.
Seek the Lord for how you can pursue the One Thing. Then devote your life to pursuing it.
Psalm 27:4 "One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple."
Luke 10:42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 18:22 “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
John 9:25 "One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
We see it in our professional sports stars and Olympic athletes "whose bodily exercise will profit a little" (I Timothy 4:8a), but also in people like Mother Teresa, whose "godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (I Timothy 4:8b).
We learn from their lives that there is an art to doing the One Thing really well. We must become such men for the eternal cause of Christ. That is our One Thing.
There is a "treasure in a field" to be stumbled upon, but there is also "a pearl of great price" which must be sought after.
Seek the Lord for how you can pursue the One Thing. Then devote your life to pursuing it.
Psalm 27:4 "One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple."
Luke 10:42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 18:22 “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
John 9:25 "One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Easy Yoke
The common human weakness is to want what is right but, at the same time, to avoid the discipline that would create rightness.
If we WANT our lives to enrich the Kingdom we must be willing to embrace the discipline and the Way of life to which He calls us. The Good News is, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).
What is the secret of the easy yoke? The purposeful, unyielding practice of living as Jesus lived, recognizing the inherent equipping power of a life in sustained, willful fellowship with the Father.
When we ONLY say what we hear Him say and ONLY do what we see Him do, our yoke does become easy and our burden light.
That is why what Christ wanted (our redemption) Christ accomplished. How He lived (in communion with His Father) brought about the resolve to walk in what He knew to be right.
Your life was ransomed. Now your life is a ransom for others.
Click here for Daily Bread.
If we WANT our lives to enrich the Kingdom we must be willing to embrace the discipline and the Way of life to which He calls us. The Good News is, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).
What is the secret of the easy yoke? The purposeful, unyielding practice of living as Jesus lived, recognizing the inherent equipping power of a life in sustained, willful fellowship with the Father.
When we ONLY say what we hear Him say and ONLY do what we see Him do, our yoke does become easy and our burden light.
That is why what Christ wanted (our redemption) Christ accomplished. How He lived (in communion with His Father) brought about the resolve to walk in what He knew to be right.
Your life was ransomed. Now your life is a ransom for others.
Click here for Daily Bread.
Monday, February 16, 2009
How Big is Your God?
What you believe about God will determine who you are and what you can do.
Many people have reduced God to the size of their biggest problem. Their confidence in Him stops short at the threshold of the problem or challenge or at the extent of their limited hope for themselves. Because of this faith-deficiency, they are destined to live with the problem. It can't be overshadowed or overtaken. It reigns supreme. It becomes their god when it goes beyond the reach of what they believe God can do.
"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). What a man thinks about God becomes the limit to what God is able to do in his life.
The Word of God is the substantive antidote to the poison that restricts our ability to think beyond our fears and to believe beyond our challenges.
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
Faith from His Word takes us further so we can believe and see above our circumstances, through our problems, and beyond the bounds of our own short-sighted dreams when we understand that God is bigger than any challenge, more powerful than any threat, and more far-reaching than any of our best plans for ourselves in Him.
As we read, believe, and act on His Word we grow in faith. We become able to see God doing more so our problems shrink and our possibilities expand before us.
How big is your God?
Try Bigger.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Many people have reduced God to the size of their biggest problem. Their confidence in Him stops short at the threshold of the problem or challenge or at the extent of their limited hope for themselves. Because of this faith-deficiency, they are destined to live with the problem. It can't be overshadowed or overtaken. It reigns supreme. It becomes their god when it goes beyond the reach of what they believe God can do.
"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). What a man thinks about God becomes the limit to what God is able to do in his life.
The Word of God is the substantive antidote to the poison that restricts our ability to think beyond our fears and to believe beyond our challenges.
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
Faith from His Word takes us further so we can believe and see above our circumstances, through our problems, and beyond the bounds of our own short-sighted dreams when we understand that God is bigger than any challenge, more powerful than any threat, and more far-reaching than any of our best plans for ourselves in Him.
As we read, believe, and act on His Word we grow in faith. We become able to see God doing more so our problems shrink and our possibilities expand before us.
How big is your God?
Try Bigger.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The Problem with Genetics
My two boys have taught me how much genetics influences who we are. I had to face it. Nature (God-creation) contributes to character and giftings as much as nurture.
When I was a Psychology student, my leanings were to the Behaviorist Camp, which puts so much emphasis on cause and effect and environmental contributions to who we are and why we are who we are.
But I can't deny that my two boys, raised in the same home under very similar circumstances, influences, etc. are dramatically different. And they've always been. As infants they handled sleep and eating different. Little tiny (but significantly different) attitudes towards everything that was in their little tiny world.
So what do we do with this? Are we stuck with who we are?
Clearly not. We can make remarkable changes in our attitudes and deep adjustments in our personalities when we encounter forces of influence that are greater than ourselves.
Some of these forces will require change - like strict family systems, or extreme governmental controls. Over time, these can account for differences in entire people groups who, although it sounds prejudicial, behave differently from each other.
My adventures over the past few years into a number of countries and cultures has shown me that, in fact, people behave differently in different cultures. They even think differently, process ideas differently, and react to change differently. Nurture responses.
Some of these forces will coax us into change and show us how we can change and what that change might mean.
Our own experiences with God are of this sort. He invites us to change.
When it comes to character, we should focus on our weaknesses - and pursue growth and maturity there. When it comes to our giftings, we should focus on our strengths.
Identify a character weakness and eradicate it. Identify a gifting and grow it. In this, I believe we are partnering with God in growing us up in to Him.
Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
When I was a Psychology student, my leanings were to the Behaviorist Camp, which puts so much emphasis on cause and effect and environmental contributions to who we are and why we are who we are.
But I can't deny that my two boys, raised in the same home under very similar circumstances, influences, etc. are dramatically different. And they've always been. As infants they handled sleep and eating different. Little tiny (but significantly different) attitudes towards everything that was in their little tiny world.
So what do we do with this? Are we stuck with who we are?
Clearly not. We can make remarkable changes in our attitudes and deep adjustments in our personalities when we encounter forces of influence that are greater than ourselves.
Some of these forces will require change - like strict family systems, or extreme governmental controls. Over time, these can account for differences in entire people groups who, although it sounds prejudicial, behave differently from each other.
My adventures over the past few years into a number of countries and cultures has shown me that, in fact, people behave differently in different cultures. They even think differently, process ideas differently, and react to change differently. Nurture responses.
Some of these forces will coax us into change and show us how we can change and what that change might mean.
Our own experiences with God are of this sort. He invites us to change.
When it comes to character, we should focus on our weaknesses - and pursue growth and maturity there. When it comes to our giftings, we should focus on our strengths.
Identify a character weakness and eradicate it. Identify a gifting and grow it. In this, I believe we are partnering with God in growing us up in to Him.
Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Click here for today's Daily Bread.
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