After I posted my last blog, I saw an old Seed from the Sower segment where Michael Guido explained, “One young woman asked her friend, ‘Do you think Jesus ever smiled? After all they called Him the man of sorrow.’ Her friend replied, ‘I’m pretty sure that He did. When I asked Jesus into my heart, I felt like I had swallowed the sun. And I can’t stop from telling people about how happy He makes me, I can’t stop smiling.’ The Bible declares over and over, ‘The joy of the Lord is our strength.” I think Michael Guido hits the nail on the head—the joy of the Lord, not the things of this world, is our strength. As the bride we get our satisfaction and our joy from Christ alone.
As a man and a dreamer, I long for the Spark in the eye from the woman who loves me unconditionally, regardless of what she can get from me or what I can do for her. Older men often tell younger men that when you see this spark, you’ll know that there’s something special going on. I haven’t met a man yet who can explain to me this PHENOMENON. They just say there will be an unexplainable peace in my heart. At this point my life I’m convinced that she won’t look like I expect or even act like I may want her to. No, she won’t be perfect, but be perfect for me and LOVE ME for me. I’m looking for THE LIGHT BEHIND YOUR EYES.
American author Jodi Picoult explains it best, “You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.” I pray the right woman will love only me. A real lady is a ONE MAN GIRL. With that said I’ve learned that people who claim to love everything, never truly love anything! The more I HEAR ‘EM say love, the more I realize THEY DON’T KNOW that love is not a synonym for enjoy or like. A lady knows the difference between loving and liking. She knows love means commitment, not being comfortable.
A few years ago I was talking to an acquaintance who “loved” chocolate. This girl would get all mushy-eyed and excited at the thought of chocolate. She also “loved” the season of fall and would smile as she talked about the leaves falling from the trees. But, when she would talk about how much she “loved” her boyfriend of three years, there would be no smile. She complained to me about him, but earnestly professed her undying love for him. Eventually, she began to flirt with me and tempt me. I knew from our many conversations over the years that she wasn’t relationship material, because she was more concerned about temporary happiness than about a lasting relationship. Likewise many professing believers are more concerned about temporary pleasures than eternal holiness.
The Hebrew word for holy is qadosh and it simply means to be set apart for a special purpose. Strong’s concordance explains the Greek word for holy, hagios means “To set apart by (or for) God”— much like a bride is set apart for and devoted to her husband. WE BELIEVE God’s people, the church (bride) are to be set apart from this world. Like with an earthly marriage, with this new life come new priorities and new desires that are NOT OF THIS WORLD. Besides, doesn’t a bride long to be with her husband? Not other men. Some mistake the Christian life as an easy life full of shiny, happy people. They DON’T LIKE the idea of not getting their way.
What I think the first young woman in the story missed was that she used the world’s definition of happiness to define a permanent and eternal happiness that can’t be shaken and isn’t dependent on circumstances. Chuck Swindoll defines joy as, “Living above the circumstances.“ That means that our happiness does not depend on how things are going, but on God’s constant goodness—even when things are hard. Worship leader and writer Gangai Victor once wrote, “True worship leaders worship the Lord at all times and use songs only when necessary.”Most people know that one day I hope to sing a special song to the lady of my heart to express the joy I have in her. It will be a simple outward expression for her, but it won’t be my love.
This is true joy and it only comes from having a relationship with Jesus, the bridegroom. The prophet Isaiah was first to describe Jesus as “a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3).” Isaiah’s prophecy was that Jesus would be rejected by both this world and His own people; Jesus would be rejected by His bride. To be honest, Jesus is getting the short end of the stick. His bride isn’t faithful and really doesn’t want anything to do with Him. She’s more concerned about being comfortable here on earth than going home to Him and being truly committed.
Paul explained to the church in Philippi that they would not only believe in Jesus, but suffer with Him (Philippians 1:29). Jesus once told His followers, that they would have trouble in this world (John 15:18). No, this world is not a love fest for those who really believe in and follow Jesus. As we talk about suffering for the faith, one of my favorite heroes in the Bible comes to mind, Stephen as he suffered, cried out, “I SEE HEAVEN open up (Acts 7:54–58).”
I think of our brother Saeed Abedini who is willing to die and suffer for the faith and is holding on for something better than this world has to offer. God has a way of taking BROKEN PIECES and making something new and beautiful. The prophet Isaiah declares that God gives us BEAUTY FOR ASHES (Isaiah 61:3). The early Christians especially the apostle Paul, were THANKFUL that they suffered for their faith (Romans 8:17, Philippians 2:17, Colossians 1:24). Paul encouraged the church in Corinth to suffer “abundantly” (2 Corinthians 1:5).Randy Alcorn explains in his book Heaven, "God uses suffering and impending death to unfasten us from this earth and to set our minds on what lies beyond."This is what happens in the book of Hebrews(Hebrews 11:32-40).
The Apostle Paul’s message was to be thankful in all situations (good and bad), for everything (Ephesians 5:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is appropriate seeing how we will celebrate Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks. But are we really thankful or wearing masks to cover our ungratefulness? St. Augustine once said, “You never go away from us, yet we have difficulty in returning to You. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back. Kindle and seize us. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love. Let us run.” I want there to be a FIRE IN MY HEART for God, whether I'm being blessed or not.
The church is called, by its nature to find ultimate joy and satisfaction in the bridegroom—Jesus, and nothing else; not our dreams, paychecks, homes or even our families (Luke 14:25–35). We’re to love Christ more than all of these. It’s CASH OR CHRIST. Jesus makes it clear that we can’t serve both man and God (Matthew 6:23–25). We may say, “Jesus, I am UNASHAMED OF YOU and we’re NOT FOR SALE,” but our refusal to let go of the things of this world shows otherwise. Jesus said something similar about the Pharisees of His day (Matthew 15:7). They too claimed, “I KNOW HIM (God),” but refused to be humbled. Theologian John Calvin wrote “Those who set up a fictitious worship, merely worship and adore their own delirious fancies; indeed, they would never dare so to trifle with God, had they not previously fashioned him after their own childish conceits.” This is why the Bible warns us not to LET DOWN our guard; pride, self-preservation and selfish ambition can blind us to the truth (Matthew 16:6, Mark 8:15).
We are even to be willing to suffer for the sake of this relationship. True love doesn’t end in divorce. That’s not real commitment, its convenience. Just like a husband hurts and struggles when his spouse hurts. Hence, in sickness and in health—in good times and bad times, they stay together. Although I’m unfaithful, Jesus isn’t LETTING ME GO. We DON’T LET GO of what we really love. Jesus would do anything for His bride; even give up His life for her by going to the cross. He humbled himself out of His love for us (Philippians 2:8–10). If THE CROSS IS MY CONFESSION, then humility is the evidence of the GOD IN ME.
While studying for this blog I came across a book on humility written by a 19th century preacher and missionary that shook my world like an EARTHQUAKE. In his book Humility Andrew Murray writes, “Jesus Christ took the place and fulfilled the DESTINY of man, as a creature, by His life of perfect humility. His humility is our salvation. His salvation is our humility and so the life of the saved ones, of THE SAINTS, must needs bear this stamp of deliverance from sin, and full restoration to their original state; their whole relation to God and man marked by an all pervading humility. Without this there can be no true abiding in God’s presence.”
It’s our humility that should bear the light of our character and our witness for Christ, not earthly power or position. Not earthly riches or treasure. Jesus warned that where we place our hope and treasure, our hearts will be and if we Fix our eyes on things above, our bodies will be full of light (Matthew 6:21–22). Later the apostle Paul urged the church in Ephesus to live as CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT (Ephesians 5:5–8), so TURN YOUR LIGHT UP and SHOW THEM the love of God by how you live. And that is what this Thanksgiving blog will be about, how to light up the world.
IN THE LIGHT (REMIXED AND REPOSTED?)
The prophet Moses declared that in THE BEGINNING, God said, “LET THERE BE LIGHT (Genesis 1:3) and He separated the light from the darkness. And the battle between light and dark, good and evil has been going on ever since. The fight is clearly seen in the Old Testament as one king or ruler would follow God and another wouldn’t. Time and again this TUG OF WAR between darkness and light is seen in the Bible, these PATTERNS stretch into the New Testament and even into our society and our culture.
Because of the fall of man IN THE GARDEN, we are all born with a sin nature. This is why the psalmist pleaded with God to give him a new heart. He confesses that he was conceived in sin and unless God washes him completely, there is no hope for him and he can never enter the presence of God(Psalm 51:1–11).
The Psalmist knows that nothing can be hidden from God. He knows that God even can see the wretchedness deep within his heart. Oswald chambers once wrote, “You will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.” The psalmist knows that if not for GRACE AND MERCY, he’s destined for hell.
Randy Alcorn points out in his book Heaven, “What would keep us out of heaven is universal: ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). Sin separates us from a relationship with God (Isaiah 59:2). God is so holy that he cannot allow sin into his presence: ‘Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong’ (Habakkuk 1:13). Because we are sinners, we are not entitled to enter God’s presence. We cannot enter heaven as we are. So Heaven is not our default destination. No one goes there automatically. Unless our sin problem is resolved, the only place we will go is our default destination... Hell.” Our sin nature, our carnal desires will always leave us HELLBOUND.
Before you stop reading, let me assure you there’s some good news and there are BRIGHTER DAYS ahead. And it’s the best news, ever. Better than any of us could ever imagine. This battle between darkness and light—between good and evil, has already been won. It was won at CALVARY. Where Jesus died for whosoever believes in Him (John 3:16). He would die just to be with you.
Theologian R.C. Sproul, J.R. explains, “The glory of the gospel is not that God, just because He’s a nice guy, decides not to hold our sins against us. The glory of the gospel is that my sins are already dealt with, already punished. There is no grudge not because He has forgotten, but because He remembered our sins at Calvary. Our sins are not forgotten but forgiven, because Jesus received their due punishment.”
One day all of this suffering and the darkness of this fallen world will end, forever. The Apostle John’s vision of heaven is so magnificent and spectacular that words can’t describe it and none of us can imagine how glorious it is going to be finally be home with our Savior and Lord. John’s vision starts with a warning to THE BRIDE, “You have forsaken the love you had at first (Revelation 2:4). Clearly, this church professed to love God, but somehow their love shifted to someone or something else. Later John encounters a heavenly choir of angels singing the song of the Lamb. There will be a huge CELEBRATION in heaven because we’re finally the presence of Jesus.
The late George Beverly Shea once kidded Billy Graham that the latter would be unemployed in heaven—while Shea would still have a job leading worship.” Every nation and tribe will make a joyful noise in heaven, because God is STILL THE KING. And He will bring JUSTICE for all of our suffering here. Then we shall CRY HOLY is the Lord with the Angels and FOREVER REIGN with Him.
And this is just the preparation, the prequel for the goodness that’s to come. For John soon sees the WEDDING DAY of the Lord, when the bridegroom finally receives His bride and she is clothed in fine linen made up of her righteous acts (works) (Revelation 19:6–9). C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Women sometimes have the problem of trying to judge by artificial light how a dress will look by daylight. That is very like the problem for all of us: to dress our souls not for the electric lights of the present world but for the daylight of the next. The good dress is the one that will face that light. For that light will last longer.”
As a man, I often dream of the day of having the best view at a wedding and seeing my bride walking down the aisle towards THE ALTAR, I imagine the smile on her face and the glow in her eyes. It’s a bittersweet moment when we’ll surrender our freedoms in life for something more fulfilling, together. Yes, I KNOW that I have to give her all of me, likewise the church must give God all of herself, just like Christ gave everything that He had for His bride. Are you ready for that wedding? It will be an eternally BEAUTIFUL LIFE.THAT HOME will be SO BEAUTIFUL. Canadian theologian D. A. Carson explains, “Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so.”
Only, this wedding in heaven will be much different than weddings here on earth, because this wedding is all about the bridegroom and He will be the center of attention, for He gets all the glory. Perhaps this is why we as a church are self-righteous sometimes. Because as the bride, we think we’re the center of attention in this relationship—but we’re not and never have been. Ever since that first ray of light in the beginning, it’s always been about God. Pastor Mike Wilkerson of Mars Hill Ballard explains, “Here’s what’s surprising about making sense of your life in God’s story: the story is not about you—it’s about him. He is both the author and the main character, and he has written you into his story to say something about him.”
And in heaven it becomes more about God. John tells us that after the judgment of the dead, where people are judged for what they “did” in this life. God will create a new heaven and new earth that are so wonderful, those in heaven now, can’t imagine. There will be no more death, pain or suffering. Again God will be the center of this new creation and the love will be so great that there will be no need for a sun or moon. God’s HOLY LIGHT and love will illuminate everything, at this point my life that is what I’m looking forward to the most, being in the physical presence of Jesus and I WILL BE enjoying His light as MY BEAT GOES on after this world ends, baby!
WTH?
And this is where so many people, including Christians, tend to lose focus and reveal their true heart. We forget that this world and life are only temporary. The psalmist declared that, “I won’t die, but I LIVE (Psalm 118:17). Life goes on for everybody after death—both sinners and saints will spend eternity somewhere. The only question is where. What we pursue in this life will determine where we will spend eternity; Heaven, Hell, but here (earth) is temporary and it won’t last forever. In an article that I wrote for my final assignment of my current class I began with this observation, “Over the last few decades many theologians have concluded that man has created God in his own image—of course this contradicts Scripture (Genesis 1:27). Furthermore, since the events of 9/11, there has been a growing trend of man creating his own version of heaven here on earth.”
When Jesus began His earthly ministry and declared His authority as the Good Shepherd, He explained that those who really loved and followed Him would have an “abundant” life (John 10:10). This has become one of the most twisted and confusing verses in the Bible. Many false teachers and hopeful believers have concluded that Jesus wants to fill His followers’ lives with temporary and fleeting pleasures of this world. If this were the case, then those first disciples would have never had to suffer for the faith and they would have been some of the richest and most popular teachers of their day. Instead they lived modest and humble lives as servants of the King. What the heck happened to us? The late Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
According to the Strong’s concordance, the Greek word for abundant used here is perissós and it means, “Advantage, going past the expected limit.” The average life expectancy of people TODAY is 78.9 years. Some regions may expect a few more years depending on gender and region, but 78 is average worldwide. To younger generations this may seem old, but in the scope of eternity 100 years isn’t a blimp on the radar. The point is our journey on this hunk of rock hurtling through space is very brief.
But for those who love, follow and serve Jesus there is this promise of a longer, beyond expected life that is truly abundant. German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "Jesus calls men, not to a new religion, but to life." It’s imperative for us as a church to not only faithfully follow Jesus, but faithfully get the message of the “good news” out, so don’t just GO GLOW. Theologian Marva J. Dawn once wrote, “...we are to be lights in the world. It is God's business to light us, to set us on the lampstand, and to bring the people into the house. Our only duty is to shine forth with the gospel.” If we as a body don’t AMP IT UP and SHINE the light of heaven into this dark world by how we live, we will have to stand before the throne above and answer to God for how we’ve wasted this brief time that we call life, because there are no secrets in heaven.
If we are really different and set apart from the world, then we can’t go on pursuing the same things the world does. Jesus taught His disciples not to pursue or worry about the things of this world that TOMORROW will be destroyed in the fire (Matthew 6:28– 33). Jesus tells us to pursue the kingdom of God, things above (33). By our nature and purpose we can’t continue acting like this world and loving the things it does. Anglican theologian Vinoth Ramachandra writes “Note that shattering conclusion: we become like what we worship." There can be NO COMPROMISE in this life.
It seems like every sense 9/11; the church has become fixated on being comfortable and profitable here on earth. As America’s prosperity took a hit after 9/11, the prosperity gospel and the feel-good mindsets increased in popularity IN THE CHURCH; many Christian evangelicals who had once been absent from the church community, returned to hear the “good news.” But, the hope seemed to shift from heavenly blessings to the ROYAL LIES of worldly BLESSINGS as popular “motivational” speakers and authors flooded bookstands with titles like “Your Best Life Now”, “Change Your Words, Change Your Life.” It’s a simple case of IDENTITY THEFT. We can’t claim to follow a humble God and not be humbled ourselves. How can the world SEE THE LIGHT if we keep living in the dark? President Calvin Coolidge once said, “Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshiped.”
Andrew Murray explains, ““The root of all virtue and grace, of all faith and acceptable worship, is that we know that we have nothing but what we receive, and bow in deepest humility to wait upon God for it.” Sure, God wants to give us good gifts as an expression of His love for His bride; but they aren’t meant to replace the ultimate gift—Himself,one that will last forever…Himself, where moth and rust do not destroy (Matthew 6:20). That’s what our hearts are to be set on (Matthew 6:21).
Everything else is going to be destroyed, even the earth will FADEAWAY. No wonder God allowed the original Temple, to let the light out. Or maybe God decided to BREAK THE BUILDING so He could get back in. This year people will take 850 million pictures of family, friends and places in their lives, one day all those pictures and places will be gone. I think about some of my favorite places and memories: biking outside in the countryside, standing inside the Coliseum in Rome, walking around the leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, running through Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy or standing on top of Pikes Peak in Colorado and looking down at airplanes four years ago.
And I realize that none of them will last or compare to the glory of being in heaven. The wisest and richest man ever declared that wealth and the things of this world are meaningless (Ecclesiastes 5:10–15). The Hebrew word prosper is shalom and it doesn’t mean money or possessions, it means peace or completeness. And the bride won’t be complete until she is reunited with the bridegroom.
Randy Alcorn continues, “It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.” This is why I need to MURDER MY FLESH and let Jesus RESCUE ME.
One would think that with the ever increasing greed, violence and moral bankruptcy of the world, the bride would desire more for Jesus to take us home. We don’t need the Bible to tell us that this world is not where we belong. Doesn’t a bride long to be with her husband and not other lovers? Jesus’ half-brother James answers this question pretty bluntly, if we love this world, then we are enemies of God, not His bride (James 4:4)—Adulterous people are what James calls those who love this world.
Pastor and author John Piper explains, “Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel.”
I recently asked a friend who is engaged to be married if he is more concerned about his future wife being happy or being faithful to him. He replied, “I hope that she is faithful to me and that makes her happy.” I’m no prophet, just an ordinary man; but I’m confident that is God’s ultimate desire as well, for the church to be with Him and be content.
One of my favorite parts of Francine Rivers’ book Redeeming Love is when Angel awakens from her drug-induced sleep and is confronted by another prostitute named lucky, “Lucky took her hand. ‘They’re rigging his wagon so he can take you home with him. You’ll sleep all the way with the laudanum you drank. You won’t feel nothing. ‘She felt lucky touch her hair. ‘You’re a regular married lady now, Angel. He had a wedding ring on a chain around his neck. He said it belonged to his mother. His mother, Angel. He put his mother’s wedding ring on your finger.”
At first Angel isn’t satisfied and she longs for her old life as a prostitute, perhaps because she was the one in control. Letting go of this life and trusting God can be scary at times, but no one ever said that the Christian life would be easy, still we shouldn’t LOOK BACK. The more time Angel spent with her husband, the more she got used to this new way of living and the less the ways of her old lifestyle satisfied or tempted her.. Solomon made it clear that we acknowledge God by the way we live, not talk (Proverbs 3:5).
It works the same way in the Christian walk, the more time we spend with God and the more we focus on Him, our desires and even dreams change and we come BACK TO LIFE. MY HOPE is in the Christ alone, He’s coming back for His bride only. It’s the Jesus paradigm effect, the things that used to matter the most to us become of little importance to us. The apostle Paul explained this very phenomenon to the church in Philippi (Philippians 3:7).
Jesus told his followers that the kingdom of God works the opposite of the way things work here on earth. The greatest on earth are the least in heaven and the least on earth will be the greatest in heaven. Things of little value in this life will have the greatest value in the kingdom to come and vice versa. When we pray to God, “BUILD YOUR KINGDOM HERE”, it’s not about bringing more earthly things here; it’s about bringing the humble and forgiving spirit of God to earth, again.
Take for example the most precious commodity on earth today, gold. To many it is a symbol of great wealth on earth. But in heaven, the pavement that we will walk on, will be made of gold (Revelation 21:21). Jesus even rebuked His own disciples for aspiring for positions of greatness in this life (Mark 10:35– 45). If we really want to be somebody, we must be in Christ. Before Jesus went the cross He gave one last command, “love each other and this is how the world will know that we are His disciples by our love for Jesus and each other (John 13:34– 35).
For the second time in as many years I’ve recently witnessed members of a local church go on a self-righteous POWER TRIP to get their way in a church. Fortunately, this time I wasn’t the one attacked. However, it broke my heart to see a pastor, father, husband, child of God, a brother being slandered and attacked by the wolves. They wanted their way so bad that they didn’t care who they hurt or what means it would take to get it, they like it ON THAT HIGH and think that it’s okay. That’s not the humble and loving spirit of Christ. One of my favorite Facebook quotes is, “God don’t like ugly.” Don’t forget the LORD KNOWS how corrupt our hearts really are.
It’s this very quest for a position of power that caused God to shake heaven like an earthquake and cast Lucifer, the once bright morning star (Isaiah 14:12) and a third of the Angels in heaven out. Because there can be no selfish ambition or other sin in heaven. Darkness cannot be part of the light.
