Heaven or Hell?

On June 13, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 3: 2

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

No, this isn’t the typical “Are you going to heaven or hell” speech we hear so frequently. I really want to pose a question. Do you want to go to heaven or do you simply want to avoid hell? What motivates you, heaven or hell? You see, I think some people just want to avoid hell, and well, that is a good motivation. Hell is not a place any person will enjoy. In fact, we should avoid it at all costs. Selah.

Some of us gave our lives to Christ because we wished to avoid the horror of eternity in hell. Somewhere along the line, though, hell became less of an issue, less of a point of focus, and heaven became the target. Avoiding hell is good but it certainly is not the prize. Heaven is the prize. What is heaven anyway? At some level we think of it as a place, but the real draw is that it is the residence of Jesus and the Father. In other words, wherever they are, is heaven, at least to me. Heaven is spending eternity in the direct company of Jesus, Yahweh and the Holy Spirit (I wish he would tell me his name).

Imagine a scenario where there is hell, a neutral place and heaven. At this point we have removed our names from the register in hell but to be forever in the neutrality without God would not satisfy. Of course, that would be hell, but the point is that the neutral space would no longer satisfy us. Our longing is to be with the Father. Our energy is focused on knowing Him. Getting into heaven is good but the heart’s desire is far beyond just getting in the gate. Don’t we long to sit at the Father’s feet and listen to His stories? Perhaps you just want to put your eyes upon Him. There is nothing so great as being in the presence of the Holy Trinity.

Repent means to change your direction, change your way of thinking. So, we continuously readjust our sights and compasses so that we are pointed straight towards the Father of heaven. We seek His presence here, true, but we are also seeking His presence in eternity.

One last thought about today’s verse, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As we reread it and think about it, thoughts about saving lost souls may surface. Additionally, it may even call into question our approach to evangelism. The first thing I noticed is that there is no mention of hell here. Jesus did not preach about the kingdom of hell. He preached the good news, the Kingdom of Heaven. He called people up to God. He did not come condemning them, or us, as sinners. Our sin was fact, but not the message. The message is heaven. The message is the greatness of a Father who loves us. Just a thought to ponder. Selah.

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Reproach

On June 12, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 13: 12 – 13

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

I am reading a book by Bill Johnson titled, When Heaven Invades Earth. In chapter 15 he refers to this verse in the course of his explanation about the unpopular position revival often has in the body of Christ. We know that the church leadership did not welcome Jesus with open arms. In fact, they persecuted him. So, Johnson’s assertion that Jesus was outside the popular group rather than inside does not come as a surprise. Still, I found myself rather taken aback by this scripture and the writer of Hebrew’s position that we, too, must be willing to endure reproach in order to meet Jesus where he is.

Of course, this verse refers specifically to the fact that Jesus was crucified “outside the gates” of Jerusalem. It is symbolic of his entire ministry. He never quite fit in with the established church which is amazing in itself. How could God not fit in with the church? Better question, does God fit in at our churches today? That is a frightening question.

Apparently, in order to fit in with God and with Jesus, sometimes you are going to suffer the reproach, or the criticism, of the church. This is not a comfortable suggestion. I don’t want people figuratively throwing tomatoes at me and I am pretty sure you feel the same way.

We all know that to the world of the unsaved, we are peculiar people. There is no surprise if I tell you that you may be estranged from your more worldly friends or that your unsaved family may shun you. The challenge in today’s scripture is that in order to follow the moves of Jesus, you may find yourself an outcast among your church friends. Following Jesus exacts a price and that may mean that you are an outcast among the saved. Jesus isn’t standing still. He has a big picture revelation he is ushering into the world but it comes in one little small revelation at a time. Jesus said, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now (John 16: 12). This scripture is so big that you just need to see it in some other translations too. Tree of Live version: “I still have much more to tell you, but you cannot handle it just now,” God’s Word translation: “I have a lot more to tell you, but that would be too much for you now,” and finally, the Passion translation: “There is so much more I would like to say to you, but it’s more than you can grasp at this moment.”

You see, Jesus has so much more to show us and tell us. That necessarily means we will have to assimilate new thoughts, new ideas. He wants to and will lead us into all truth but it is more than we can take in at the moment, more than we can absorb at one time. Therefore, he sends bits and pieces and all these are fitting together into his masterpiece. If he showed us the whole painting, it would overwhelm us. Truthfully, the little pieces tend to overwhelm us. In addition, if we truly follow him and accept the revelations he shows us, we will likely be ostracized by the church. Following Jesus tends to foil the traditions of the church. That is why the writer in Hebrews lets us know that if we are sincere about our boast to follow wherever Jesus leads, we should prepare ourselves to be outcasts even amongst our brothers.

This is a bitter pill, I know, but better to be with Jesus, even in the discomfiture of his beliefs than to be cozily ensconced in dead theology and contented church tradition. Remember how Jesus taught about not seeking man’s approval? Well, you get your chance here. As you listen to God in your heart, you are going to discover challenges to your own personal theology. You will also learn new truths in Christ and challenges to our way of doing things. We must be a people willing to follow Jesus wherever he leads and let the chips fall where they may. It ain’t easy, but it is the way!

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Riding Fire Horses

On June 11, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Kings 2: 11             Tree of Life

As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

We have developed what, to me, is a perverted way of thinking about death. Truth be told, even using the word “death” is an admission that we do not understand or do not believe in the eternal life. I say that because we are living our eternal life now. You will never die but you are going to change addresses. There will be a transition from here to heaven. Okay sure, your body will give up its life but your spirit is eternal. Anyway, what bothers me about our concept of death is that we will die of a disease. Not me brother. That is not God’s will for me so I don’t accept it. Neither should you.

Why don’t we just ride out of here on a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire the way Elijah did? We actually see that happening in scripture, therefore, it is scriptural and you cannot say it isn’t. We didn’t see it happen often, in fact this is the only example exactly like this, but that is not to say it didn’t happen more than once. Whatsmore, Enoch went up to heaven without “dying.” “And Enoch continually walked with God—then he was not there, because God took him (Genesis 5: 24 TLV). So, who is to say this isn’t God’s preferred way of moving us from earth to heaven? Personally I would rather ride in a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire than to get sick to the point of death.

If God is the great healer, why are we all expecting to get sick and die? Does that really make any sense at all? What a lack of faith we demonstrate when it comes to life and death. We have been so molded by an unbelieving generation that we no longer think as Godly people in this area. Today is a new day though. Let’s shake up our thinking.

You should intend and expect to live a long life and be strong and able bodied for the entirety of it. Then, at a ripe old age, 120 or more, just walk out of this body and into heaven. I am not using my faith to believe for you or myself to be sick one single day of our lives. Does it happen sometimes? Yes, sometimes it does but that is the anomaly. Every once in a while the world sneaks up on us, doesn’t it, but we are people of faith, believers in the God of power and righteousness. We need to shift our minds to where our hearts reside and get our mouths in line with the Word. Then we will live a different existence here on earth and go out riding on God’s glory. That is His will for you.

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Perfect Unity

On June 8, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Philippians 2:2             Passion Translation

So I’m asking you, my friends, that you be joined together in perfect unity—with one heart, one passion, and united in one love. Walk together with one harmonious purpose and you will fill my heart with unbounded joy.

Our one passion is the trinity – Jesus our Messiah, the Holy Spirit our guide and our Father. We are to be united by our singular passion rather than divided by our many ideas and doctrines.

This is, I am convinced, an end times message. Jesus is supposed to come back for his glorious church but we are anything but that at the moment. However, there are stirrings. Churches are beginning to throw off their denominational robes in favor of one love of the king. With one heart, united in love, we are to walk together. We have been divided by our ideas, by our thinking, but we were never called to join together in oneness of thought. In fact, our communion was never meant to be an intellectual conclave. We are supposed to lead with our hearts and through love, connect with one another and the father.

There are a lot of different ideologies in the Christian church. Even among one denomination we find many different, and even conflicting, beliefs. I have the thought that when we get to heaven and take to the Father all the things we have argued so vehemently about He will say to us, “You were all wrong.” It is natural for us to develop our own cognitive map about our faith and equally natural for those to have different shading from person to person. In fact, I like to say we are all congregations of one because I often think that there are no two persons who believe exactly the same. That is okay, especially in this age of the Holy Spirit because he is able to give you nuances of a particular scripture that would not apply to or be meaningful to me. Still, we can be united in one common faith, one common non-denomination, if you will, because of our singular passion, the love of Father, Son and Spirit. At the end of the day, that is all that really matters. Jesus said the whole of the law and the teachings of the prophets can be summed up this way, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF’” (Matthew 22: 37 – 39).

If you believe in Christ and love God then you are a friend of mine. And here is the good news, you are not responsible for what I believe. We can differ safely because we will not go to hell because of another person’s misguided doctrine. Our concern is to love one another in faith, not correct one another. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good theological debate and I can tolerate differences of opinion. We don’t have to agree, in fact, the questions are what make the conversation. If you believe exactly as I do, then what is there to discuss?

All of this is to say that we can safely come together in the unity of Christ. This is our calling: one God, one faith. That we do not agree on everything is of no consequence. We agree that God is wondrous to behold, worthy of our praise. Jesus is the Messiah, our beloved and together with the Holy Spirit, they are all working together for our benefit and our eventual life with them. It will be glorious and we can learn all the answers then, though, something makes me think we will care very little. We will just want to gaze upon the Father. So, let’s spend our energy on what is important, loving God, loving one another and accept each other is the same grace that our Father extends to us. This is the coming together of the body in preparation for the coming of Christ.

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See Him

On June 7, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 33: 8

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

I went to hear a friend of mine preach last Sunday and had a marvelous time. Isn’t that funny, that we can actually have fun at church? In his sermon and his delivery I could see the seminary student. At other times I recognized the research he did in preparation. It was also clear that he allowed the Holy Spirit to lead him in the preparation and the delivery of his message. As I sat there soaking in all of the elements of the message, I found myself wondering. What makes a man like this even want to be a Christian? His message was full of reliance on God, reliance on the Spirit of God. His message was about the idols which we all set up in our hearts. One of the most prominent for preachers is that we tend to put our education and our ability to research and learn on the throne of our hearts. We get so busy trying to learn and convey what we have learned that we forget to actually yield ourselves and all that we are to the Lord. Craziness, right? As I listened, though, I became convinced that this is a man who truly adores God and who is submitted to him. For all the education and intelligence, this was a man hungry for more of God and humble before the Almighty.

It bathed my heart is the sweet honey of the love of God. The anointing in me was stirred up by the anointing on the message. That is the sweet spot and there is nothing better. That anointing only comes from those who truly love the Lord and stand in awe of Him. We sometimes have to remind ourselves to look at the Father and appreciate the grandeur of who He is. Messages from the Holy Spirit are only given to those who yield their will to that of the Father. There is a loud note of trust here. I have to put what I know, or think I know, on the back burner and let the Holy Spirit be the teacher. First, the Spirit preaches the message to the preacher and then preacher gives it to the congregation. In order to receive that message, we have to stand in such reverential awe of Him that we are convinced that He will not let us down. We trust and know that He will deliver.

Every aspect of life is this way. It is not only for preachers. Whatever work we do, in our relationships, with our money and everything else, we lay all those things on the floor of the throne room of God as we lift our eyes to gaze upon His beauty. From that adoration, praise and trust, from that intense sense of reverence and awe, flow all the miracles and all the sustenance. Understand this, to my friend, Jay, sustenance was a message for Sunday. It was one of his greatest needs. He had to trust God for it. There is great pressure in trying to develop a Sunday sermon. If you miss God in that situation, you do so before a crowd of people. Everyone knows you either didn’t seek God or you didn’t listen. That can put some pressure on you – if you let it.

Just like everything in life, we must take all these worry generating circumstances to the Lord and trust Him to meet our need. Clearly Jay did just that. His message was anointed in the grace of the Father and the oil of the Holy Spirit. God delivered. God was trustworthy. Yahoo! That is shouting ground folks. If God will do it for a preacher in North Carolina, He will do it for you. God is no respecter of persons. His grace and mercy are for every single person on the planet. Jay appealed to the Holy Spirit and trusted God for the answer. That should encourage all of us.

Whatever your problems, whatever your worries, lay them down. Look upon the Lord. See His magnanimity. I tell you truthfully, when we see God for who He is, not only does it arouse praise and reverence within us, it also minimizes the worries. We begin to understand that He is not only capable, but also willing. Look at the Father, our God. See the glory of His countenance. Let Him lift your heart. When you see Him, really see Him, you will lose all worry. You will know all your needs are met. Glory to God!

So the answer why people, capable people even, submit to God and serve Him is because God is so great. Great is a much overused word but I just cannot seem to find a word big enough to describe the kind-hearted generosity and love the Father has for all who seek Him. This is also the answer to how we can actually have fun at church. When we experience God, there is nothing greater. It may be hard to describe to a non-believer or a cultural Christian but the heart soars in the presence of God. We experience true freedom and joy. Look upon the Lord. See Him for His greatness and the kind intentions of His heart. Stand in awe that the God of the Universe is your very own Father – if you let Him be.

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Withstanding the Storms

On June 6, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 6: 11 – 12

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Do you want to be able to stand against the storms of life? Do you want to be able to remain firm when all around you the tempest rages? Well then, the first thing you need to understand is that the fight is against the devil and his gang.

There are two problems I see with people distinguishing their enemy. First, they do not know who their enemy is because they do not have a realization of the devil. There are many people in our society who do not even believe there is a devil much less that he is at work in this world all of the time. And even though this scripture is about as plain as it can be; even though the Bible clearly tells us that our problem is the spiritual forces at work, many Christians are just as misled as the rest. This works very well for Satan because if we don’t even acknowledge his presence then we cannot fight against him. So, he just wanders around uninhibited. That is a real problem.

Second, people generally focus on the people who seem to be the cause of their trouble instead of penetrating the sheath and recognizing that it is the devil’s crew behind the scene that is manipulating the whole mess.

If you are going to win against the schemes of the devil, you first have to recognize who your enemy is. Once you have done that, we have some answers about how to deal with his shenanigans. Verse 11 tells us that putting on the armor of God will give you the ability to stand against him. What is the armor of God? Verses 14 – 17 hold that answer: truth, righteousness, preparation in the gospel, faith, and salvation. You must put on truth and wear it like wearing a pair of pants. Wear righteousness as your shirt. Your shoes are the time you spend in the word. Faith is your shield. It completely encompasses you and everything you are. Faith is in everything you say and do. Finally, salvation, the precious blood of Jesus, is your hat. It crowns you and covers all. It is the top and everything else is beneath the saving grace. You wear these pieces of armor as part of yourself. Any piece you leave off, though, leaves you exposed. Do not leave truth out of your wardrobe. Don’t forget to put on your shoes of the Word. Every piece is important, and they will guard you and help you.

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Kingdom Living

On June 5, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 6: 33            GW

But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you.

This quote from Matthew may be familiar to you but it takes on a different nuance when read from the God’s Word translation. It comes at the end of a talk Jesus gave on the birds of the air and flowers and how God meets the physical needs of all His creation.

God knows we need clothing, food and shelter so we really do not have to pray about those things in the first place. That is Jesus’ first point. If God clothes the flowers with such beauty and feeds all his creatures, will He not also care for you? We have become so smart and so independent that we get the idea it is up to us to meet our needs. No way! That’s God’s job and His delight.

You have probably heard the version that reads, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” The GW version essentially translates righteousness for us and also answers the question, “What does it mean to seek the Kingdom of God?” Righteousness is not the holiness doctrine we sometimes make it out to be. Holiness is good, I am not arguing that but righteousness has more to do with right standing with God. Another way to think of it is doing things God’s way. The GW version points out that seeking God’s kingdom has to do with concerning ourselves with the things God is concerned about. Meeting our needs is not on that list. Those are automatic fulfillment orders for God. Frankly, our need fulfillment really isn’t even our business. So Jesus’ second order of business here is that we should set our sights on Kingdom business. We are to seek out God’s direction on what He would have us think about and work on just as if He is our boss. We seek to do the things God wants AND do them His way. That means we will have faith projects instead of works projects.

Many of us try to fulfill righteousness through works projects. It is also how we attempt to meet our own needs. As we seek God and His way of living, all those “things” we need are just automatic. They exist in His kingdom. So when we put them aside, focusing instead on Kingdom goals, God’s inverse logic takes over. We get all that is in the Kingdom, but we also get the things we need in the world even though we forego seeking them. Seek God, and all else will be added to you. And, may I say, don’t even bother Him with the mundane things of life. Sure, you want to tell Him what you want but focus 99.9% of your time with Him seeking His mind and His thoughts. He knows you need food, don’t waste your time together telling Him you need food. Ask Him, if you want, what food He wants to give you. He may surprise you, though, because He thinks differently than do we. He may begin talking about feeding you with His Word.

Seek God. Put your mind on what is going on in God’s Kingdom. Talk with Him about Kingdom goals. You will have fun and enjoy all the Kingdom benefits too.

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