After Jesus ascended to heaven, two angels stood by the disciples to tell them that He'll return in the same manner (Acts 1:11).
We have this promise right now and for every year we remain on this earth.
Christ is returning.
It will be sudden and immediate.
The trump will blast and the dead will rise and we'll meet Him in the clouds.
Forever
His return should comfort and encourage our hearts. However, for any number of reasons, believers feel apprehensive about the Lord's unexpected return. Or is it because some will be shocked to find themselves in places they shouldn't be when His voice breaks the sky?
Beloved friends, for 2018 let's resolve to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not on earthly things.
Unlike the saying we must be heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. When we know whose we are and what we are in Christ and where we are going - then we have firm purpose and clear direction. With such holy resolve, earthly problems and cares don't bind us but rather advance us to greater glory. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (NIV).
At the stroke of midnight when 2017 has all but faded let's cry:
"Come quickly Lord!"
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Before You Rush Out The Door
My wife and I live a few minutes from a mall. We took a stroll through the store and along Main Street. Traffic was backed up. Horns pierced the late Saturday afternoon in an effort to push drivers ahead as cars blocked major intersections. The sidewalks were clogged with pedestrians holding packages of all sizes. They rushed out of the stores for the parking garage to escape the misty rain.
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
It wasn't silent and there was a lot of last minute panic stricken customers.
Which brings me to this thought.
Before you rush out to the door for church this Sunday to remember His birth or for a Christmas dinner - still your mind and heart - and give Him thanks.
Thank the Lord who gave you breath and a beating heart. Who preserved your life through the good and bad times in 2017 and years past. He's remained faithful and kind and merciful even when we strayed or resisted Him. And He will be with us in the years that remain.
Recently I've been reading the Psalms in the evening to remind me to worship Him. It says, "Praise the LORD! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting!" (Psalms 147:1 NLT). Now, that's the best gift to present to Him - for every season and every day. Rather than grumble, complain and tell God what you don't like or want - tell Him how wonderful and beautiful He is to us.
So before your hand turns the door knob to enter the frenzy and busy activities of this season. Close your eyes for a moment. Whisper a thank you to Him. You'll sense a peace that silences the tumult in the mind as a holy calmness is restored.
If you see the moon
Rising gently on your fields
If the wind blows softly on your face
If the sunset lingers
While the cathedral bells peal
And the moon has risen to her place
You can thank the Father
For the things he has done
Thank Him for the things He's yet to do
And if you find a love that's tender
If you find someone who's true
Thank the Lord
He's been doubly good to you
(Amy Grant)
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
It wasn't silent and there was a lot of last minute panic stricken customers.
Which brings me to this thought.
Before you rush out to the door for church this Sunday to remember His birth or for a Christmas dinner - still your mind and heart - and give Him thanks.
Thank the Lord who gave you breath and a beating heart. Who preserved your life through the good and bad times in 2017 and years past. He's remained faithful and kind and merciful even when we strayed or resisted Him. And He will be with us in the years that remain.
Recently I've been reading the Psalms in the evening to remind me to worship Him. It says, "Praise the LORD! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting!" (Psalms 147:1 NLT). Now, that's the best gift to present to Him - for every season and every day. Rather than grumble, complain and tell God what you don't like or want - tell Him how wonderful and beautiful He is to us.
So before your hand turns the door knob to enter the frenzy and busy activities of this season. Close your eyes for a moment. Whisper a thank you to Him. You'll sense a peace that silences the tumult in the mind as a holy calmness is restored.
If you see the moon
Rising gently on your fields
If the wind blows softly on your face
If the sunset lingers
While the cathedral bells peal
And the moon has risen to her place
You can thank the Father
For the things he has done
Thank Him for the things He's yet to do
And if you find a love that's tender
If you find someone who's true
Thank the Lord
He's been doubly good to you
(Amy Grant)
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Medicine For Despairing Moments
This week proved to be a very difficult time.
At work, we were trained for a new product to take effect on January 1st. We had no choice as this product was enacted by the state and required if we manage state disability claims. I spent hours in a classroom with a sense of dread of how I could manage my current crushing work load.
For the past few weeks our car along with other residents were required to park near a construction zone while they worked on the driveway leading to the garage. I felt displaced. Then a new resident moved next door only to hear a dog barking in the apartment. Not only did I feel despair from work and displaced but anger that a dog was allowed in an apartment against the terms of the lease.
The Holy Spirit helped me each night to spend time with Him in addition to my morning devotions. He broke through my feverish and anxious thoughts with peace. He settled the rising anger toward my neighbor. And He reminded me that I have a place in His heart.
Just before writing this blog, He lead me to this precious promise.
Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT).
Beloved, hold to this promise in moments of despair and anxiety. Recall His past and current acts of faithfulness. He is with us. He will hold our hand just like Peter who was sinking into the stormy seas. And He gives us strength to cry out to Him. He listens.
A Scripture like this is the best medicine for despairing times because these moments don't last. What remains is a firmer faith anchored to Christ our hope of glory that He will lead us in and through these trying experiences. Faith tried in these fires is greater than gold (I Peter 1:7).
And that is the side effect of the medicine - you see and believe differently - and become immuned to the effects of despair.
At work, we were trained for a new product to take effect on January 1st. We had no choice as this product was enacted by the state and required if we manage state disability claims. I spent hours in a classroom with a sense of dread of how I could manage my current crushing work load.
For the past few weeks our car along with other residents were required to park near a construction zone while they worked on the driveway leading to the garage. I felt displaced. Then a new resident moved next door only to hear a dog barking in the apartment. Not only did I feel despair from work and displaced but anger that a dog was allowed in an apartment against the terms of the lease.
The Holy Spirit helped me each night to spend time with Him in addition to my morning devotions. He broke through my feverish and anxious thoughts with peace. He settled the rising anger toward my neighbor. And He reminded me that I have a place in His heart.
Just before writing this blog, He lead me to this precious promise.
Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT).
Beloved, hold to this promise in moments of despair and anxiety. Recall His past and current acts of faithfulness. He is with us. He will hold our hand just like Peter who was sinking into the stormy seas. And He gives us strength to cry out to Him. He listens.
A Scripture like this is the best medicine for despairing times because these moments don't last. What remains is a firmer faith anchored to Christ our hope of glory that He will lead us in and through these trying experiences. Faith tried in these fires is greater than gold (I Peter 1:7).
And that is the side effect of the medicine - you see and believe differently - and become immuned to the effects of despair.
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Living In The Light
We live in dark, troubling times.
Violence, a type of gross darkness, has even invaded the church. A sanctuary of safety and protection became a blood bath when a killer gunned down 25 people including an unborn child in a Texas church. Our political climate has reached a feverish pitch with nuclear threats and the middle east fighting for control over Jerusalem. Other countries have been struck by terrorism like Paris and London.
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. (Isaiah 60:18-19 NLT).
This is not just a promise to Israel but I believe it applies to us today.
We are to be a light set on a hill for others to see. When a room is filled with light it swallows any lingering shadows. The light of Christ in our lives, when we walk in His light, will invade not just our own darkness but the inky blackness that surrounds us.
For some it's not easy being light in the office. The looks and hushed remarks make you feel intimated. A walk through a mall or store and you can see a young generation hands glued to their mobile devices. How many are actually holding a bible in hand and reading it? When you mention Jesus, you can instantly see the response as the person drifts away.
As believers we haven't been the best witness of His light. Some of us have shadows and overcast in our lives from secret sins that seem to dull the reflection of Christ. But God is not calling perfect people. Just prepared hearts to be light right where we live no matter our spiritual state. We are after all being changed from glory to glory in His image!
Hold to this promise and I believe we will stumble less and be a true reflection of His grace:
You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. (Psalms 18:28 NIV).
Violence, a type of gross darkness, has even invaded the church. A sanctuary of safety and protection became a blood bath when a killer gunned down 25 people including an unborn child in a Texas church. Our political climate has reached a feverish pitch with nuclear threats and the middle east fighting for control over Jerusalem. Other countries have been struck by terrorism like Paris and London.
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. (Isaiah 60:18-19 NLT).
This is not just a promise to Israel but I believe it applies to us today.
We are to be a light set on a hill for others to see. When a room is filled with light it swallows any lingering shadows. The light of Christ in our lives, when we walk in His light, will invade not just our own darkness but the inky blackness that surrounds us.
For some it's not easy being light in the office. The looks and hushed remarks make you feel intimated. A walk through a mall or store and you can see a young generation hands glued to their mobile devices. How many are actually holding a bible in hand and reading it? When you mention Jesus, you can instantly see the response as the person drifts away.
As believers we haven't been the best witness of His light. Some of us have shadows and overcast in our lives from secret sins that seem to dull the reflection of Christ. But God is not calling perfect people. Just prepared hearts to be light right where we live no matter our spiritual state. We are after all being changed from glory to glory in His image!
Hold to this promise and I believe we will stumble less and be a true reflection of His grace:
You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. (Psalms 18:28 NIV).
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Moments Of Refreshing
Psalms 63 may have captured the time King David was fleeing from his son, Absalom.
Absalom tried to overthrow his father to become king of Israel. This treacherous act was a fulfillment of the prophet's words when David was confronted aftering committing adultery and killing the woman's husband (2 Samuel 12:10).
Now, at the height of successful victories and reigning over Israel, David finds himself in the wilderness. The same waterless place when he fled from King Saul. But this time the enemy was different. It was his own son.
Do you find yourself in a spiritual wilderness? Does it seem your prospects and promises have dried up? Do you find yourself running from a ghost from the past? You may feel exhausted from running in vast, open spaces with no shelter. There's no rest and no water to refresh your parched lips. Prayers die on your lips. Nothing lives in this barren place and you feel your life slowly ebb away.
David refuses to spiral down to self pity or self loathing over past mistakes and failures. Rather, David recalls God's faithfulness and determines to bless God despite his arid condition. He proclaims, "Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!" (2 Samuel 12:10).
Friends, wilderness experiences are temporal similiar to the natural seasons. And if anything, such a dry season should cause us to dig deeper in loving God with a renewed passion. You see the outward state does not shape the internal spiritual condition.
When we hide the word of God in our hearts that changes us it will in turn exert power over our surroundings. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19).
You may be in a dry place but you are not dried up and withered. Trees lose their leaves in the autumn but it's not because the tree is dead. Life still flows through their roots to the very highest branch.
This is a canteen promise holding living water to refresh your weary souls.
Take a long satisfying sip.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. Jeremiah 17:8 NLT
Absalom tried to overthrow his father to become king of Israel. This treacherous act was a fulfillment of the prophet's words when David was confronted aftering committing adultery and killing the woman's husband (2 Samuel 12:10).
Now, at the height of successful victories and reigning over Israel, David finds himself in the wilderness. The same waterless place when he fled from King Saul. But this time the enemy was different. It was his own son.
Do you find yourself in a spiritual wilderness? Does it seem your prospects and promises have dried up? Do you find yourself running from a ghost from the past? You may feel exhausted from running in vast, open spaces with no shelter. There's no rest and no water to refresh your parched lips. Prayers die on your lips. Nothing lives in this barren place and you feel your life slowly ebb away.
David refuses to spiral down to self pity or self loathing over past mistakes and failures. Rather, David recalls God's faithfulness and determines to bless God despite his arid condition. He proclaims, "Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!" (2 Samuel 12:10).
Friends, wilderness experiences are temporal similiar to the natural seasons. And if anything, such a dry season should cause us to dig deeper in loving God with a renewed passion. You see the outward state does not shape the internal spiritual condition.
When we hide the word of God in our hearts that changes us it will in turn exert power over our surroundings. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19).
You may be in a dry place but you are not dried up and withered. Trees lose their leaves in the autumn but it's not because the tree is dead. Life still flows through their roots to the very highest branch.
This is a canteen promise holding living water to refresh your weary souls.
Take a long satisfying sip.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. Jeremiah 17:8 NLT