You Will Be With Me

Have you ever really thought about it? Just think of Jesus's words to the thief on the cross, “I assure you; today you will be with me in paradise. I know so many Christians that often times forget that Jesus saved us so he could one day be with us. How often do you actually think about it, I mean really think about it? This world is not our home; Jesus is preparing a place for us, a home that is beyond our comprehension, a place made just for us. So why do we who have placed our trust in Jesus, try so hard to build our Kingdom in this world, when we could be building for the one to come. Why do we think that this world has more to offer us, than the one to come, the one that will include Jesus, in physical form. Yes Jesus in real life will be with us everyday. How often have you said to yourself, if only He was here right now, if only I could see or touch Him. Well that will be our reality, we will walk and talk with Jesus, seeing Him everyday. No more longing for His presence for He will be there and we will be with Him. Yes we will be with him, so remember always that our home is yet to come , so lets hold loosely to the one we now live in.

Both Creator and Redeemer

In his Book (Reflections of a Pilgrim) Mark Royster states “How can I affirm you as the Creator then doubt you as Redeemer?” There is the issue, so many Christian have no problem affirm Jesus as the Creator. The One who made all things, we believe Colossians 1:16-18 which states

(For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.)

But what we often doubt is the fact that he is Redeemer. We often look at our lives and we make statements like there is no way You can still love me after what I have done. Or I’ll never be good enough. Or I just can’t see why you would want to use someone like me. But the truth is, Jesus does love you and once you trust Him as your savior and redeemer. He will never give up on you or leave you. Paul deals with this truth best in Romans chapter 8:1-4 Which states,

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

So if you are like me I challenge you to not only know that Jesus is creator but to affirm Him as your savior and your redeemer. He is might to save and will keep those he saves for that great day.

Read Roman 8 and Ephesians 2

Relational God

One of the most amazing things about God is that He is relational. That the God that created every thing, He wants to be in relationship with His creation. He is not far off, the bible tells us that He in near. Just think about it that he who needs nothing, love us and wants us to be with Him. When Jesus was on the earth his call to us was a call to a relationship. He said come follow me, and when he left He said I go to prepare a place for you and I will come again, so that you may be where I am. Yes God is a God who wants His people with him because He is a relational God. So today enjoy time with the God who made you and the God who delights in you.

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on Him, too all who cal on Him in truth.

Secret Things Can’t be Clean

Genuine repentance happens when we become transparent and honest about ourselves before God. In today’s culture we are taught to be tolerant, accepting and open-minded about practically everything. However when it comes to things that are shameful, things that we know in our guts to be wrong we keep these things secret. Unfortunately, society tells us that it’s ok to do everything and anything, whatever feels good, and to live our lives as we see fit. But I sense that people who live this way feel a conflict of the heart. As Christians, God has written his law on our hearts, causing us to feel conviction when we sin. (Jeremiah 31:33) So when we live in a way that is contrary to God’s Word, our hearts tell us it is wrong, and we try to hide that part of our lives. We even try to keep it from God.

In Psalm 32 David was at that place. He might have written this after he had committed the sin of sleeping with Bathsheba, another mans wife. And then trying to cover up his sin he ordered the murder of Bathsheba’s husband. He was guilt of adultery, murder, and lying. (2 Samuel 11-12) David intentionally tried to hide these sins from God. The Bible is clear on this subject, when people do things that are against God’s law, they will feel convection, and face consequences of those actions. But you can tell God of you sin and see how he will forgive you. When you do this you will come to know the freedom that come when you turn to God for forgiveness of sin. Read Psalm 32 and see the relief that David found as a loving God restored him.

Non-religion

In his book “The Prodigal God” Timothy Keller writes {it is hard for us to realize this today, but when Christianity first arose in the world it was not called a religion. It was the non-religion. Imagine the neighbors of early Christians asking them about their faith. “Where’s your temple?” they’d ask. The Christians would reply that they didn’t have a temple. “But how could that be? Where do your priest labor?” The Christians would have replied that they didn’t have priests. “But…but” the neighbors would have sputtered, “where are the sacrifices made to please your gods?’ The Christians would have responded that they did not make sacrifices any more. Jesus himself was the temple to end all temples, the priest to end all priests, and the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. No one had ever heard anything like this. So the Romans called them “atheists” because what the Christians were saying about spiritual reality was unique and could not be classified with other religions of the world.

The irony of this should not be lost on us, standing as we do in the midst of the modern culture wars. To most people in our society, Christianity is religion and moralism. The only alternative to (besides some other world religion) is pluralistic secularism. But from the beginning it was not so. Christianity was recognized as a tertium quid, something else entirely}

I think its time that we start to live as Christians and be the people that live as Christ lived. May we become something else entirely?

Home

It has been a very busy last few months, as I have been traveling and speaking. God has taught me so much about Himself, and I am falling more in love with the God who made me, and saved me. One of the things that I’m learning is how much I miss home. Now don’t get me wrong, I love traveling. I count it a privilege to have the opportunity to share Gods word in different places. I also love it when the rest of the ministry team can travel together and we can all use our gifts for God. However, after awhile you find that you just want to be home. There is something about home that just bring a sense of comfort. I thought about being home with God, how great that day will be. When this journey is over and forever we will be with God, forever in God’s presence with Jesus. I understand now why we should desire to be with Jesus, because that is home. Yes this life we live is a journey and there are many times we enjoy it, but I know that Home is always the place that our hearts truly needs. I guess Dorothy was right when she said in the Wizard of OZ “THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME”

Glory

How many time do you ever think of the word Glory? In our culture it’s not a word you here often. When I read the Bible especially the Old Testament the word Glory is everywhere. So the other day I was listing to a message while driving in the car. Matt Chandler was teaching on the purpose of their church. He stated that their church was there to bring God glory. He then went on to define the word Glory as it is used in the Bible. He stated that the word Glory means weight. Let me try to explain, the weightiness of the Glory of God is greater than anything else. God is the most Glorious
Of anything that is, that means He alone is the most important thing. There is nothing or no one more Glorious, any more worthy than He. The weight of that truth should bring us all to a place of worship and adoration. So today will you humble yourself before the Glory of God?