Forever

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate... But Abraham said [to the rich man](), Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.' Luke 16:19-20,25

We stand at the edge of a vast chasm. Our choice between two extremes will determine our fate, and once we have gone to one side of the chasm, we can never cross to the other.

On one hand we can see the wealth of the world. Splendor and majesty, ease and comfort grow large in our vision and entice our desires. On the other hand we see the suffering of the world. Beggars and the broken, filth and poverty fill our sight and we shudder with revulsion.

Our logical mind tells us that there is no choice to be made here, our decision must be obvious. But Jesus says it is not as plain as that. He says that there is a life beyond what we can see that we must consider.

Looking above the chasm to Him, we ask for help to understand what He means. In answer, He simply pulls open His chest so that we can see His heart. Images of His glory flash in our minds and we realize with awe the vast treasure He possesses in Heaven. But that is not all we can see in His heart, for quickly the vision of Heaven is swallowed up by a vision of indescribable destitution. Immediately we know that we see the wretchedness of mankind, the poverty of those living as broken images of God.

Then we understand the choice set before us. It is the same choice that was once set before Jesus. He saw the splendor of Heaven, yet He also saw the afflictions of mankind. He weighed all that He possessed and accounted that it was worth nothing if He must abandon His creation to keep it.

Our vision of Jesus fades and we find ourselves still standing on the edge of the chasm. Having seen Jesus' heart, we know exactly what to do. We know that all we have is worth nothing if we use it only to comfort ourselves.

So we make our choice. We count all we have, offer it up to Jesus, and continue through life, working to take every opportunity we have to meet the needs we encounter around us.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You think I am worth all the treasures of Heaven! Please give me Your heart for the people around me and show me the right way to meet all the needs that I can.

Amen

The Ultimate Threshold

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1

Everyone is looking for a way to live a better life, and today I am going to tell you the best news for this you could ever hear. Are you ready?

This life that you have right now is temporary. The body that you have is just a tent, a temporary dwelling place that will not last forever.

Why is this such great news, you ask? It's great news because, if you believe in Jesus, then the next body you have will last forever. It will be a building, not a tent. And it will be in Heaven, not on Earth. You will not be longing for the camping trip to be done, because you will be living in the beauty of Heaven, the joy of God's presence, and a life-filled, uncorrupted body like you could never imagine.

When you get to Heaven, you will never ask, When are we getting out of here? You will never say that. Why? Because you've arrived! You're home! This body beats the heck out of my old body!

You know, part of what makes this such incredibly good news to me is that we will all have bodies. We will not just be dismembered spirits floating around in some nirvana state of soul sleep. And how do I know? I know because Jesus got a body when He rose from the dead! He did not rise up as a ghost, but He rose in bodily form, saying, Touch me, handle me, and hey, let's eat!

We will eat in Heaven. We will have bodies that are no longer held back or restricted by the things that afflict us now. This really is incredible. I mean, when Jesus rose from the dead, He wasn't just eating and letting the disciples touch Him; He was walking through walls and disappearing from one place only to appear miles away in another place! These new bodies we will have are amazing!

For the joy of what was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross. Sometimes the best news you can have about this life is that something better is coming, and it is a promise from God that no matter what affliction has a hold of you now, in Heaven you will have a new body that is glorified and free.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You give us Yourself as an example of what we will one day receive! Thank You that You will give me such a wonderful gift when I get to Heaven! As I wait for that day, I choose to live for You, with the hope of what is to come.

Amen

Faith Lift

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Acts 8:5-6

You've heard of face lifts, right? Of course you have. But have you ever heard of a faith lift? There are four procedures to a faith lift, and the first one is an overarching burden for the lost. I'm talking about a burden for the lost that would supersede any excuse we could come up with for why we are not doing something, anything, to go out from our Sunday-only church life and actually reach the lost who are spiritually dying around us every day. Our passion for reaching the lost needs to cause our faith to lift until we believe God can use us no matter who we are or what we've done.

The second procedure for our faith lift is an offering of obedience. When God calls us to something and we're faithful with it, it ought to become a place of blessing. When that happens then it can be hard to leave. But we need to remember how we came to the blessing in the first place-by following God-and we need to continue obeying His voice wherever He tells us to go.

Procedure number three is that we must overcome the obstacles that are holding us back from God truly getting a hold of our lives. We must live in full surrender for His glory 24/7, each and every day of our lives. What God says does not always make sense, and it's not always convenient, but He wants to see our faith lived out in action.

The last procedure in our faith lift is being open to all opportunities. Some day you're going to disappear. Either you'll die or Jesus will just catch you up to be with Him. But the question is, how many other people will be caught up because of you?

We all need a faith lift, and it might not be easy, but it will happen as we make the intentional choice to follow Jesus as he leads us. Then, when we see His faithfulness, we will be full of faith and our faith will lift.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for being faithful to me! I choose right now to be faithful to You. Lead me and guide me however and wherever You choose. I will follow You and praise You as You lift my faith.

Amen

Checking the Tyre Pressure

All your rulers have fled together; they are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; they have fled from afar. Isaiah 22:3

I may never march in the... sing with me, ...but I'm in the Lord's army. We've known this most of our lives. We are the Lord's army.

The problem, though, is that a lot of us have gone AWOL. You know what that means,

right? Absent Without Leave, without permission. It means that a lot of us have run away, retreated without being commanded away from the front lines.

This is a huge problem, and Ephesians 6 helps us understand why. This is where Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God, including the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, having the sword of the Spirit in our hands-which is the Word of Godtaking up the shield of faith, and putting the belt of truth around our waist and the gospel of peace on our feet.

Here's the thing with that-is there armor everywhere? Are you completely covered? The answer is no. No, you're not completely covered, because your back is exposed. The armor is designed for you to come together, shield to shield with your fellow soldiers, forming an impenetrable wall like the scales on a snake.

But what happens when one soldier retreats? First, his own back is exposed, unguarded, unprotected, and vulnerable to any attack of the enemy. Second, the wall is broken. The one soldier who retreats leaves his comrades exposed. Instead of being free to focus on the enemy forces, they must focus on closing the gap. It changes the whole flow of the battle for those who are close to the one who retreats.

God doesn't want us to retreat from the spiritual battle that is being waged for all of our souls. He doesn't want us to pull back from Him, to retreat from trusting, believing, tithing, giving, and living for Him.

Instead, He calls us to stand firm, to trust His promise that we already have the victory. In fact, He would say to us today that the only way we don't win is if we retreat. If we will trust and stay, then we will win because Jesus has already won.

Whatever you're facing today, Jesus is the answer. Wherever He has called you to go, He's already there winning the battle. Whatever you feel is holding you back from living all out for Him, He's right there waiting to set you free.

Jesus is your victory today. Trust Him, stand firm, and receive His promise for you.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You have already given me victory over everything I'm facing today! I really would rather run away, so make me strong in You today as I choose to believe Your promises!

Amen

Blind Corners

But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him...But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 1 Corinthians 8:3,9

Americans love their freedom, and Christians love their freedom that much more.

In many lives, this freedom turns into licentiousness-the permit to sin without accountability or consequence.

When the New Testament era began, God gave a freedom to His people through Christ Jesus that they had never before known. The Jews in the Old Testament had their Law, and many Jews wanted the new Gentile converts to adopt these laws. But God gave them only one law-the Law of Love.

Paul wrote the Corinthian church to straighten out their priorities concerning their liberty. He said, You know that you are free, and that's good, but do you understand the purpose of your freedom?

Within the church, at that time, the people knew well that they were free from law. They understood that they had the right to do whatever they wanted to do, but this freedom went to their heads.

It became a selfish obsession that was more important than the other believers around them. It was better, in their eyes, to do something that used to be taboo simply because they were free than to prefer their brother who still wasn't so sure it was okay.

Paul set the record straight, saying, It is more important to be kind to your brother or sister in Christ than to take full advantage of your freedom, because your freedom is pointless without love.

The heart of this truth is the heart of God. Jesus was free to stay in heaven and let us die in our sin, but His love trumped His freedom, so He laid down His life for us. In so doing, He both set us free and gave us the example of love in which we should follow.

Take a moment to examine your life. Which takes higher priority for you-your freedom or your love? Your answer to this question will tell you how much of God's heart beats inside of you.

Prayer Father God,

If I am Your child, then I know I should be like You. You put Your love before Your freedom, and because of that, I am Yours. Please help me to do the same for the people around me.

Amen

Blind Corners

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish menas free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 1 Peter 2:15-16

Have you ever wondered what God's will is?

We always begin to ask this as we approach times of transition in our lives. Whom does God want me to marry? Where does God want me to go to college? Does God want me to start this new business? Is it God's will to move and take a new job?

These major shifts in our lives give us pause, forcing us to seek God for His plan for our lives. While I am not saying this is bad, I can say for certain that God's will is not an elusive mystery, for He has already told us plainly what it is.

God's will is for us to do good, and in so doing, silence the voices of those who would malign God and His Church.

Yet there is a tension, isn't there, because God has also given us freedom. God is sovereign, yet He also holds us accountable for our decisions. We must choose what to do with our freedom, whether to use it for ourselves or for others.

This is what Peter says, that we should not use our freedom as a cloak for vice. It is not to become an excuse for sin that controls our lives!

Oh, well, I can drink as much as I want because I'm free. It doesn't matter that I'm drunk more than I'm sober.

Oh, I can sleep with my boyfriend. What else is freedom for?

Oh, I can join in the negative conversation and gossip at work. Besides, that's what keeps me in relationship with them, and how can I reach them if I don't ever talk to them?

A better question would be, how will you reach them if you sacrifice your witness by how you talk? Or, how will you reach them to change if you are no different?

Our freedom is not a gift for ourselves, but for others. As a bondslave was freed, yet chose to remain in service, God has freed us, yet we choose to serve Him.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for setting me free! I choose to use my freedom for others, serving You to do good. Please help me as I look for ways every day to do good to those around me!

Amen

Holey Moley

The look on their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. Isaiah 3:9

What has the power to destroy a nation?

This is an interesting question, and to answer it, we can see in scripture five flaws that can bring on the collapse of any nation.

First, debt can destroy a nation. Often this begins as a day of abundance where people get used to living the high life. But people do not reach the end of their appetite when they reach the end of their means, so they go into debt to acquire more. Debt turns our day of abundance into a drought of dependence in which we have begun to rely on creditors instead of on our God.

Second, the departure of godly leadership can destroy a nation. This does not usually happen when all the godly people decide to move, but rather when the desire for godly leadership is replaced with disrespect. When there is no honor for wisdom then people do not pursue it or follow it, and those godly, wise leaders become irrelevant to the direction of the nation.

Third, a nation can be destroyed when the office of authority is no longer honored. When we are just begging someone, anyone, to run for office-we just need a warm body to sit in the chair-then this is a bad sign. When good people quit running for office, then goodness quits running.

Fourth, when sins that should bring shame are celebrated, it can destroy a nation. The plain fact of the matter is that, as enticing as the life of sin is, it is a life of living Hell that we create for ourselves because it is a life that is separate from God.

Fifth, when children of the Crown become children of the culture, it can destroy a nation. This can be summed up as a change of focus from inward beauty to outward beauty. When we stop caring about the character of our hearts more than the attractiveness and adornment of our bodies then it takes our eyes off of the eternal and focuses them on the temporary.

These things put together, lasting over time, spell disaster for any nation. Change must come to our nation, and it starts with us. Where do you see these five things in your life?

Prayer Lord God,

I want my nation to be blessed! I repent for any way that I have helped lead my country the wrong way by living out these five things. Please release mercy to me, and to America, and lead us back to You!

Amen