April 6th

Joel in 3D

Now, therefore,' says the LORD, Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.' So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:12-13

Have you seen a movie in the latest 3D technology? Or even more, have you seen the TV's that bring 3D right into your home? It really brings you into a deeper entertainment experience, doesn't it?

Well, hopefully today I can bring us all into a deeper experience of things that are more important than entertainment. We'll take one dimension at a time.

Layer one is this world, the natural, physical world that constantly surrounds us. We know this world well because we can't really ignore it. It's always around us, always shouting at us, always pressing on us with its wants, needs, and desires. And if we're not careful, it's easy to get trapped in this dimension.

So many people do, you know. They get caught up in the jobs, houses, cars, toys, stuff, and more stuff that this dimension offers. Honestly, this is a tragic trap, because living multidimensionally is so much better.

Layer two adds the spiritual dimension, in which we recognize that this physical world is not all there is to life. There is an unseen Creator who made all that we can see, who made us, loves us, and died for us so that we could be restored to relationship with Him and rose again from the dead so we could live with Him forever.

If we add layer two to layer one by letting Jesus Christ be our Lord and Savior, life grows infinitely richer and deeper. He removes sin and shame from us, taking away the things that lead to death, replacing them with forgiveness, love, joy, peace, and hope. We still get to enjoy His created world, but we now live for something else, something bigger. We now worship the Creator instead of His creation.

Layer three is eternity, which makes our picture complete, drawing it right into our lives until we're surrounded with our new reality. See, when we lived for the world, time was our enemy, because it's only a matter of time before the things for which we have worked so hard will decay and die. This world has an expiration date, but Heaven is eternal. And when we live for Jesus, He is our promise of hope for life everlasting in Heaven.

Turn to the Lord today. Let Him lead you into life in 3D.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for giving me so much more in life than just what this world has to offer! I turn to You completely right now and ask for life in 3D. Please lead me in life more abundantly!

Amen