No-holds-barred worship

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 4-6; Psalm 41

TO CHEW ON: “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying”
‘You are worthy, O Lord
To receive glory and honor and power
for You created all things
And by your will they exist and were created.’” Revelation 4:10-11

The scene John describes in today’s reading is beyond comprehension and difficult even to imagine. It is not unlike other glimpses we get of God and the activity in heaven. There are striking similarities. Note the “sea of glass” in Revelation 4:6 and the sapphire-like pavement under God's feet when He showed Himself to Moses (Exodus 24:9,10) and the 70 elders on Mount Sinai. Note the exotic creatures (Revelation 4:7,8) here and described similarly in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:10). Note the abundance of eyes in both places.(Revelation 4:8; Ezekiel 1:18)

What does it all mean? An end-note in my Bible suggests that the sea of glass denotes the unapproachableness of God. The four creatures speak of majesty (lion), courage and strength (ox), intelligence (man) and speed (eagle) “in the service of the Creator.” The abundance of eyes symbolizes God’s unceasing watchfulness.(New Spirit Filled Life Bible p.1824)

These visions evoked fear, awe and above all, worship in those who saw them.

Worship (proskuneo; pros= toward, kuneo = kiss; kiss toward - "to kiss like a dog licking his master's hand") means to prostrate oneself, bow down, do obeisance, show reverence, homage, worship, adore. We worship only God and the risen and ascended Jesus – not angels, saints, shrines, relics or religious people.

Although we’re not currently in heaven, privy to these description-taxing scenes, where worshipers fall down before God and present their crowns to Him, we can also worship on earth in the here-and-now.

1. We can assume physical postures of worship as twenty-four Elders do here – kneeling, bowing, lying on the ground before God during our times of private prayer and even in church. Perhaps it would do us good to remind ourselves of our lowness in relation to God in this way more often than we do.

2. We can give our everyday lives to God (Romans 12:1) – your “ordinary life – your sleeping eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering” (Message). This is called your “reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.” (Amp)

3. We can adhere to His standards and live obediently as people of His covenant - Isaiah 56:6,7 (inviting people of all nations to Christ, observing the pattern of life He has set out - like keeping one day of rest - and preserving our assembly place as a "house of prayer for all nations.")

4. We can be part of His plan by aligning ourselves with other Christians as “living stones” (1 Peter 2:4,5 NIV) members of His spiritual house.

Will we do these things with the same willingness and abandon that the saints in heaven worship in the awe-inspiring presence of God?

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me a sense of Your otherness. I so easily take You down to my level. Help me to worship You with all I am and have. Amen.
The Bible Project VIDEO: Day of the Lord (Theme series)




MORE: I love John's comparison of God and heaven with precious gems, stones, and metals. Trouble is, I have no experience with many of these jewels. Here is a little about the ones mentioned in this passage.

Jasper

Sardius (similar to Carnelian, only harder and darker)

Emerald


Gold

Crystal

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Sing, you kingdoms!

"Glory of the Lamb - Revelation 5:13" by David van der Plaats (The Bible and Its Story Vol 10)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Chronicles 18-21;  Psalm 68

 TO CHEW ON: "Sing to God you kingdoms of the earth;
O sing praise to the Lord.  - Psalm 68:32

It's interesting how our two readings complement each other. In Chronicles, we see David going to war, conquering even the giants, and read the author's observation: "And the Lord preserved David wherever he went" - 1 Chronicles 18:13. 

In the psalm David describes one of his battles.

There is blood (Psalm 68:21-23).

There is a procession (Psalm 68:24-27).

And there is the obeisance of earth's rulers (Psalm 68:28-31):

"Sing to God you kingdoms of the earth;

O sing praises to the Lord."

David's words suggest a voluntary—not a forced—praise. They bring to mind the wonderful scene from Revelation:

"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” - Revelation 7:9-10.

I see this psalm as a picture of life.

• Life on earth is our battlefield.

• We anticipate the final victory that we know is coming:

 "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:
'Death is swallowed up in victory.'
 'O Death, where is your sting?
 O Hades, where is your victory?'
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57.

Then will come the time when all on earth will acknowledge God for who He is:

“As I live, says the Lord. 
Every knee shall bow to Me, 
And every tongue shall confess to God”- Romans 14:11 (quoting Isaiah 45:23).

PRAYER: Dear God, in a world that doesn't even acknowledge Your existence, the sight of the kingdoms of earth singing Your praises seems almost unimaginable. Help me to cling to this hope with unwavering faith. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 68

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Our real home and native land

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:12-4:1


TO CHEW ON: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be transformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20,21


The older I get the more I long for the day my “lowly body” will be “transformed” and “conformed” to Jesus’ “glorious body.” That longing is multiplied many times over when I see bodies of family members and friends ravished by disease and crippled by failing parts. We are so fragile. A few moments of insufficient oxygen at birth can determine the course of a life. A trip or fall or crash can maim us permanently. And then there are all those hidden processes of our inner organs that open the door to heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and the growth of malignant cells.

Another reason I long for heaven is because more and more I feel like a social and cultural misfit here on earth. It's just as Paul described it in Philippians 3: 18,19. I have the sense of being an alien in a place populated by enemies of the cross. It’s a place where I am bombarded by advice on how to placate the god of my belly and where much that the Bible teaches me is wrong is my society’s pride.

Anticipating heaven reminds me of planning a trip to the tropics during Canada's harsh winter. When we do that, we feed our anticipation for our trip by reading the travel agent's brochures about our destination.Today, let's anticipate our heavenly destination by reading some of the Bible's brochures about it. 

• It’s where our Father lives and prepares the reward for all the secret “charitable deeds” we’ve performed while on earth - Matthew 6:4.

• It’s a place we’re known. Our names are written in its roster - Luke 10:20.

• It’s a place of honour and work—a banquet and an assignment - Luke 22:30.

• It’s a place of residence, of “many mansions” prepared for us by Jesus - John 14:2.

• It’s a perfect place (of “incorruptible and undefiled inheritance”). Only people whose names are in God’s book are allowed to live there - 1 Peter 1:4.

• It’s a place of purity, reserved (again) for those named in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

• It’s the place of our real citizenship, with our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ - Philippians 3:20 (our focus verse).

What a destination to look forward to!

PRAYER: Dear Father, I’m excited for heaven. While I’m still firmly on planted on earth, help me to envision this final destination to keep me hopeful, focused on what’s real, and unswayed by the tempting voices around me. Amen.


MORE: "Sometimes I Wonder"

Heaven is a very popular subject for gospel music writers. Here's a relatively recent song about heaven, "Sometimes I Wonder" sung by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer insights from Daniel

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 10:4-11:2
 
TO CHEW ON: “‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words’” Daniel 10:12 NIV.

In today’s reading in Daniel 10, I see four things from Daniel's experience that teach us about God, us, and prayer.

1. God knew Daniel by name. He had a reputation in heaven.
When the vision described in Daniel 10 began, Daniel was petrified. The angel visitor began his reassurance with these beautiful words:
“‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed….’”

Don’t you love how the angel called him by name (Daniel 10:11,12) and told him his heavenly reputation.  A note in the NIV Study Bible explains “highly esteemed”:

“A relatively rare Hebrew word … sometimes translated ‘coveted.’ Daniel is a highly desired, precious man whom God covets” (NIV Study Bible, Kindle Location 202,318).

The expression “highly esteemed” reminds me of a story told by one of the pastors at my church. In a series about hearing God, Pastor Mike told us of a day when he read a Bible story of God changing someone’s name. That morning in prayer he asked God, “Do you have another name for me?” He sensed God telling him to wait for an answer later in the day.

That night before bed he was wrestling with his young sons. At one point one of them straddled his head with his little legs, held Mike’s face in his hands, looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘Daddy, you’re expensive.’

Highly esteemed, highly desired, precious, coveted, expensive. What a reputation to have! Maybe the angels God sends aren’t always terrifying.

2. Daniel’s prayer set things in motion:
“Since the first day … your words were heard” Daniel 10:12.
On another occasion the angel Gabriel came to him with the message: “‘As soon as you began to pray a word went out’” - Daniel 9:23.

3. Daniel’s attitude in prayer moved God.
The angel said: “…the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard…” Daniel 10:12.

How had he set his heart to understand and humble himself? We can read his prayer of repentance and humility in Daniel 9:4-19.

4. The answer to Daniel’s prayer was delayed by spiritual warfare.
The angel’s words give us a glimpse of the spiritual warfare that was being fought in heaven ((Daniel 10:12,13,20) and which is also being waged around us (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

God knows our names too. We too have a reputation in heaven (Psalm 139:1-18). Let’s keep praying with realism—the awareness of who we are in relation to God—and with faith, confident that our prayers also move God’s hand and that we too can be part of God’s kingdom strategy.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for this glimpse into the connections between our prayers and Your answers. Help me to pray with realism,  perseverance, and faith that my prayers do make a difference. Amen.
 
MORE: Feast of St. Michael and all Angels

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.

The day’s liturgy begins with this collect prayer:

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Jesus—our way

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 14:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6

Jesus’ statement here is rich with meaning. Today let’s drill down into just one part of it. How is Jesus the way? To what? To where?

Jesus is the way through…

In the Old Testament an Israelite priest went into the Holy of Holies once a year. He entered through a protective veil that separated the Holy of Holies (where the ark was kept) from the rest of the tabernacle and later the temple.

This was a dangerous place to enter, for it was the very presence of God and His holy righteousness. No one but a priest could enter. He went in with the blood of an animal yearly to atone for the sins of the people. He entered only after he and the other priests had fulfilled all the rituals needed to do this ceremony correctly.

The book of Hebrews explains how when Jesus died, He passed through that veil the final time. His blood (death on the cross) was the final sacrifice needed to atone for the sins of all mankind past, present, and future. At His death the literal temple veil tore (Matthew 27:51). Because of Jesus and through Him we can come to God without blood and without fear (Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-21).

Jesus is our way, through the veil, to God.

Jesus is the way in…
John 10 records Jesus describing his followers in picturesque language as a flock of sheep. Any legitimate shepherd entered a sheepfold by the door. The sheep knew his voice and followed him (John 10:1).

Then Jesus declared Himself the door to that fold. Any sheep who wanted to be part of His flock must enter by (or through) Him. That person would be in His flock and under His care (John 10:1,7-9).

Jesus is the way into His flock.

Jesus is the way to…

In our passage, Jesus talked about going to His Father’s house. There He would make ready a place for His followers to join Him.

He told them (and us) plainly that He was (and is) the way there - John 14:4,6.

Jesus is our way to heaven.

We need to ask ourselves...

• Have we trusted Jesus’ sacrifice as our way through the veil that separates our sinful selves from a holy God?

• Are we in Jesus’ flock, under the care of and following our shepherd?

• Are we anticipating the place to which we’re headed—the Father’s house where we will join our Sacrifice (the Lamb of God, John the Baptist called Him - John 1:29), our Shepherd?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for passing through the veil between God and me with Your blood as the sacrifice for my sin. May I never take this lightly. Help me to live each day listening to Your shepherd voice and in anticipation of joining You in the Father’s house. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Shining transformation

The Transfiguration - Artist unknown

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 17:1-13

TO CHEW ON: “And He was transfigured before them, His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” Matthew 17:2


During His time on earth Jesus occasionally gave His disciples glimpses of heavenly reality. His transfiguration was one of those times.

It started as another simple mountain getaway for Jesus, Peter, James, and John. The Luke account tells us this incident began unspectacularly enough with Jesus praying. But then--wow! “As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered and His robe became white and glistening” Luke 9:29. And Old Testament characters appeared and talked with Him.

“The appearance of Moses and Elijah would have confirmed Jesus’ Messianic identity to the inner circle of disciples. The entire scene was reminiscent of Mount Sinai: the cloud, the light, and the presence of God’s voice - Exodus 19:16-19” - NIV First Century Study Bible.

Indeed! And in that Sinai period, we find more details that resonate here.
- Remember the leadership retreat we read about several day ago, where God showed up in glory - Exodus 24:10,17.
- Then later, Moses’ face shone when he came down from communing with God on the mountain - Exodus 34:30-35.

During Jesus’ lifetime we have this display of glory here at His transfiguration and again at His resurrection - Matthew 28:3.

I love how Paul pulls these threads together to make an application for our lives as Christians. In 2 Corinthians 3, referring to the glory on display at the giving of the law (which he calls “the ministry of death”) Paul argues that the ministry of the Spirit is much more glorious - 2 Corinthians 3:7,8. He ends his treatise on Christ’s glory and how it exceeds the glory of the law with an inspiring declaration:

“But we all with unveiled face, beholding in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” - 2 Corinthians 3:18 (emphasis added).

May we cooperate with the Spirit to effect such heavenly transformation in us!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for these glimpses of Your glory in the Bible, May Your indwelling Spirit transform me so that I reflect Your shining presence. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A world that needs to be made new

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 7:17-8:2

TO CHEW ON: “It shall happen in that day,
That wherever there could be a thousand vines
Worth a thousand shekels of silver,
It shall be for briers and thorns.” Isaiah 7:23

Our reading today is more prophecy of the variety we read yesterday. A quote from The Bible Panorama explains about prophecy and this passage:

“God’s prophecy is often like looking at a range of mountains or a series of clouds, some of which are close and some distant. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish one range or series from another.

(Isaiah 7:10-16 - yesterday’s reading) " Here there are specific prophecies which God gives to Ahaz as a sign. The widest and furthest sweep of prophecy concerns the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah. He will be born of a virgin, and that is a sign of God sending His Son… Isaiah 7:17-25: "Here the closer prophecies concern the invasion of Judah by other countries. When Judah is invaded and taken into captivity, it will be very hard to survive and earn a living. Previously fruitful occupations and places will become wastelands” - The Bible Panorama - Accessed through Biblegateway.com.

While prophetic passages like Isaiah 7 are hard to understand completely, not to speak of difficult to apply, they do paint a general picture that we readily see is dire. The details of the difficulties prophesied over Judah here bring to mind aspects of God’s ways with mankind through history.

1. “The Lord will whistle for the fly … and for the bee” - Isaiah 7:18.

This reminds us of God’s sovereignty over nature, even in its broken, potentially destructive state. Humankind is also part of that nature (some Bible scholars interpret “fly” and “bee” to refer to invading armies from Africa and the Euphrates).

2. “…thorns… It shall happen in that day / That wherever there could be a thousand vines … / It will become briers and thorns … / You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns” - Isaiah 7:19, 23, 24, 25.

Here we have a harsh reminder of the old curse of the fall spoken to Adam: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; / … Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you” - Genesis 3:17,18.

3. “… the Lord will shave with a hired razor… / The head and the hair of the legs, / And will also remove the beard” - Isaiah 7:20.

Shaving hair and plucking the beard were signs of dishonor applied to slaves. They serve as a reminder of our troubled world and how we abuse each other. The plucked beard also recalls a detail Isaiah prophesied about Messiah’s treatment: “I gave My back to those who strike, / And My cheeks to those who pull out the beard” - Isaiah 50:6.

4. “For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land" - Isaiah 7:21,22.

Cottage cheese made from the milk of one cow and two sheep (Isaiah 7:21), plus honey! Not exactly rich fare is it? This speaks of the diet of deprivation.

These reminders of our fallen world give us every reason to celebrate the incarnation of the One who has promised to banish the curse of fallen nature and mankind, and to make all things new -  Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 21:1.

PRAYER: Dear Father, when I’m in the thick of this world’s snags, problems, and darkness, I will lift my eyes to the hope of Your promise of renewal. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Party time in heaven

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 15:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "'I say to you, likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.... there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.'" Luke 15:7, 10


The occasion of someone's repentance may or may not be a reason for a party on earth. If you are celebrating the return of a long-prayed-for-prodigal, it surely would. But in many cases, an individual's moment of turning from a self-directed to God-directed life is a pretty low-key occasion. In some countries, people keep it a secret because the decision to accept Christ is dangerous to life.

But it is cause for celebration in heaven. The angels, aware of the hugeness of what has just happened, throw a party (or however they express their joy) over each individual who repents.

Imagine, such a simple decision on earth, yet it has the power to spark a heavenly celebration. It's cause for angelic joy, and right up there with what the shepherds witnessed at Jesus' birth (Luke 2:13,14), and what John saw in visions of the exaltation of Christ (Revelation 5:9-10), the gathering home of the saints (Revelation 14:1-3), and the triumph of God as King (Revelation 19:6).

It makes me want to pause and reevaluate my priorities. It causes me to ask myself, do I value the things that heaven values? Am I spending time and effort on what will bring joy there?

PRAYER: Dear God, please make me aware of heaven's value system. I want my life to contribute to heaven's joy. Amen.

MORE: Roses on the stage

"There are fifteen roses in the vase this week," said the officiating pastor at the church we were visiting. I was puzzled when his statement sparked a round of applause. Then he explained. Each rose signified that someone had come to Christ through the witness and outreach of that congregation during the preceding week.

What ways have you heard of to celebrate people coming to faith in Christ?

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

A divine tatoo

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Revelation 21:22-22:5

TO CHEW ON: "And they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads." Revelation 22:4

Two wonderful things about the future of the redeemed ones in heaven (our future) stand out in these verses:

1. "They shall see His face…"

Looking at God in the face is certainly something people could not do in Old and New Testament times (Exodus 33:20). Though some prophets had visions of God (Isaiah 6:1; Ezekiel 1:1), looking at Him face to face was something Bible writers only anticipated (Psalm 17:15; Isaiah 33:17).

But here, in his vision, John sees what he has looked forward to: "…but we know that when He is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" - 1 John 3:2.

Seeing His face, writes my Bible commenter, means "The redeemed enjoy perfect fellowship with God and the Lamb" - Earl Wesley Morey, notes on Revelation, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1846.

2. "… His name shall be on their foreheads."

A divine tattoo!

We mark things in this way now. Cattle are branded with their owner's mark to show whose possession they are. Slaves were once tattooed or physically marked in some way. Revelation 3:12 also speaks of such a mark: "He who overcomes … I will write on him the name of My God ... And I will write on Him a new name."

Such marks, say my Bible's footnotes, show "… possession by God, a spiritual citizenship, and a reflection of the character of Christ" - Ibid, p. 1822 (emphasis added).

Won't that be grand! No more barriers to seeing Him face to face, but marked as His possession and having His character!

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" - 1 Corinthians 13:12.

PRAYER: Dear God, what a thing to look forward to! Help me to be an "overcomer" in this life as I anticipate perfect fellowship with You in heaven. Amen.

MORE: We Shall Behold Him - sung by Sandi Patti




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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Heaven - a fabled or real destination?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 65:17-66:6

TO CHEW ON: "For behold I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind." Isaiah 65:17

I used to subscribe to "A Word A Day" a five times per week article that focused on interesting words. At one point the featured words were all names of what writer Anu Garg called "fabled destinations, places that exist only in our collective imagination." He included the Land of Oz, Shangri-la, the Garden of Eden, utopia and cockaigne. On reading today's passage, I think the "new heaven and new earth" the prophet describes would fit right in. Only, as people of faith, we resist the implication that this is a "fabled destination" existing only in imagination. Instead, we believe that the description is of someplace real, and that someday we will actually experience its delights.

Let's take a minute to note them:

1. New heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17). A brand new creation? That's what it sounds like.

2. It will be a place where regrets and bad memories don't come to mind (Isaiaj 65:17).

3. There will be an abundance of joy ("the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying" Isaiah 65:18,19).

4. There will be longevity (Isaiah 65:20).

5. There will be productive, satisfying work (Isaiah 65:21,22).

6. Families will be blessed (Isaiah 65:23).

7. God's responsiveness will not be hindered (Isaiah 65:24).

8. Even members of the animal kingdom that now prey on each other will coexist in peace (Isaiah 65:25).

When will these things happen? A footnote in my Bible says, "These conditions will likely begin during the Millennium (Revelation 20:4-6)."

With our feet firmly planted on earth and our lungs full of the oxygen of here and now, it's easy to be cynical when reading such a description. It does all sound like someone's hopeful imagination gone wild. Until we look our mortality square in the face. As Joni Eareckson Tada says in her book Heaven:

"We really don't believe it's all going to end, do we? If God hadn't told us differently, we'd all think this parade of life would go on forever.

"But it will end. This life is not forever, nor is it the best life that will ever be. The fact is that believers are headed for heaven. It is reality. And what we do here on earth has a direct bearing on how we will live there. Heaven may be as near as next year, or next week; so it makes good sense to spend some time here on earth thinking candid thoughts about that marvelous future reserved for us." p. 15

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these glimpses of Your future for me. Help me to live with their reality in mind. Amen.


MORE:  Victor Hugo at 80+

"When Victor Hugo was past eighty years of age he gave expression to his religious faith in these sublime sentences:

'I feel in myself the future life. I am like a forest which has been more than once cut down. The new shoots are livelier than ever. I am rising toward the sky. The sunshine is on my head. The earth gives me its generous sap, but Heaven lights me with its unknown worlds.


'You say the soul is nothing but the resultant of the bodily powers. Why, then, is my soul more luminous when my bodily powers begin to fail? Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. I breathe at this hour the fragrance of the lilacs, the violets, and the roses as at twenty years. The nearer I approach the end the plainer I hear around me the immortal symphonies of the worlds which invite me. It is marvelous, yet simple."

Quoted in Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (May 31st reading).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Gain from loss

Image: Skeeze / pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8

Would we, like Paul, have a list of things we've given up to "gain Christ"? Paul once had status as a model Jewish man and a Pharisee. Not just any Pharisee either but one who put hands and feet to his convictions against the upstart Christ-following sect  by hunting them down, persecuting and killing them. But the Damascus Road incident took place. Paul met Jesus. Then ".. what things were gain I have counted loss for Christ" - Philippians 3:7.

It's a paradox: gain from loss.

Jesus' teaching had many references to this paradox:

To a rich young man who wanted to be perfect and assured Jesus he had kept the law, Jesus said: " '… go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me' " - Matthew 19:21.

Later in answering His disciples' questions about what He has just said, Jesus said: " ' And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first' " - Matthew 19:29,30.

After Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about dying, Jesus explained to Peter and all the disciples the sobering choice they were making: " 'Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it' " - Mark 8:34,35.

Another time Jesus spoke about position and made this startling claim: " 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all' ” - Mark 9:35.

Still another time He taught: " 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain' " - John 12:24,25.

So we see that in his willingness to lose everything for the sake of knowing Christ, Paul was just tapping into the mindset of his Master.

I ask myself, have I done that? Have you? What does it mean to "deny" myself, to "take up my cross," to "save" or "lose" my life, to "hate it" or "love it," to "count all things as loss" in exchange for knowing Christ. Does it have implications for what I do with my money and possessions, my time, relationships, goals, ambitions, the career I choose? I'll be pondering these questions today.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to understand in terms of everyday living, this paradox of gain from loss, and be willing to test it in my life. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Advent HOPE

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14


On this third Sunday of Advent, I see in Paul's words one of the advent season's main themes: HOPE (even though the word is not mentioned).

Paul finds HOPE:

• because he doesn't have to depend on himself ("the flesh") but can put his confidence in Jesus - Philippians 3:2,3.

• because knowing Christ and not outward law-keeping, has become the focus of his faith - Philippians 3:4-8.

• because "in Christ" he is right with God - Philippians 3:9.

• because through knowing Christ he has power (but has also put himself on the path of suffering—perhaps not so hopeful, but realistic) - Philippians 3:10.

• because he can look forward to being raised from the dead, as Christ was - Philippians 3:10,11.

• because his life has a goal: "… the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus" - Philippians 3:12-15.

• because he can look forward to a heavenly home and a transformed body - Philippians 3:20,21.

If you were writing today about the things that give you hope, what would your list include? Any of the above? Let's pause in the December busyness and reflect on HOPE and how different our lives would be—how hopeless—if Jesus hadn't come to earth.


PRAYER:

"Come Thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of ev'ry nation,
Joy of ev'ry longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a Child, and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne."
- Charles Wesley

MORE: Third Sunday of Advent

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. The day's liturgy begins with this collect:

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Heaven's out-of-the-box life

Photo courtesy Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 12:18-34

TO CHEW ON: " 'He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.' " - Jesus, Mark 12:27


Continuing on with the theme of resurrection and the resurrected life, in our passage today we read of the Sadducees (who didn't believe in a resurrection) trying to trip up Jesus. They posed a situation (based on Deuteronomy 25:5-10) to which there was no resurrection-consistent answer—at least that was their hope.

Jesus turned their question into an exposure of their mistaken thinking by answering with Scripture (a bit from the Pentateuch—something they did believe in). He took them back to the story of the burning bush, where God said to Moses, "'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' " (Exodus 3:6,16). Of course by Moses' time, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were long dead. Yet God said "I am…" (present tense) their God now. Therefore, Jesus reasoned, they were not dead but existing in some post-dead, resurrected state, for "He is not the God of the dead but the God of the living."

Jesus' answer to these Sadducees, in addition to affirming that there is such a thing as resurrection, gives us another little glimpse behind the scenes into the afterlife—a glimpse that is both revealing and mysterious. The writer of my Bible's notes says:

"It is erroneous to think of heaven in terms of earth. Life in heaven will not be an extension of the present temporal existence. The power of God will provide for new and greater relationships that transcend the physical relationships of the present order" - J. Lyle Story, study notes, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1332.

This bit "Life will not be an extension of the present temporal existence" got me hunting for more details about heaven's out-of-the-box life. Here are some things I found:

• We won't be in marriage relationships but like the angels (from our passage - Mark 12:25).

• Death will no longer exist - Isaiah 28:5; 1 Corinthians 15:54.

• God will be the panacea to all the sorrow, crying, and pain we may feel on our arrival and banish those things forever after - Revelation 21:4.

• Inhabitants of heaven will have transformed bodies - Philippians 3:21.

• People "… of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues" will be there, praising God - Revelation 7:9.

• There won't be night there or the need of physical light-producing stars like the sun - Revelation 22:5.

• In heaven, we'll see earth's trials and hardships in true perspective - 2 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 1:18.

• We will be with Jesus (John 14:3), see His glory (John 17:24) and contribute to it (Matthew 13:43; Romans 8:17).

There are probably more but I'm sure you get the picture.

So today, when you and I are tempted to let the realities of this life get us down, let's remember to meditate on the future and our post-earth life, till we can identify with Paul who said: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" - Romans 8:18.
 
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I long for the time when the things I've listed above are fact. "Even so, come Lord Jesus." Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The prize of heaven

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Revelation 7:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "And the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:17

This heavenly scene from John's vision is full of mystery but also certainty. There are ambiguities like who exactly are the 144,000? What does it mean to "seal them"? Is the mark of God's seal on their foreheads a literal mark or symbolic?

However, many things in this chapter are clear.

• The great multitude in heaven will be made up of people from all around the world: "...of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues" - Revelation 17:9.

• They are absorbed in praising God and Jesus in a scene that reminds us of a combination of Palm Sunday (John 12:12-14) and the wedding feast in Jesus' story (Matthew 22:1-14).

• The creature inhabitants of heaven are also completely wrapped up in praising God. They chant what my Bible footnotes describe as "a sevenfold ascription of adoration":

"Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honour and power and might Be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

• When John, in his vision, asks who this great crowd is, one of the elders tells him it is "...the ones who came out of the great tribulation." The grammatical makeup is literally the "ones coming out" expressing a continuous (not once-for-all) action. My Bible's footnote explains: "This is not a post-consummation picture. Therefore tribulation is to some degree taking place throughout the entire church age....The great tribulation describes the acceleration and intensification of troublesome times as this age comes to an end, climaxing with the Rapture and Second coming" - Earl Wesley Morey,  New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1827 (emphasis added).

• The setting in heaven is idyllic.

- no more hunger or thirst.
- no more sunstroke or energy-sapping heat.
- the Lamb-Shepherd (Jesus) leads its inhabitants to living fountains of water (Psalm 23:1-6).
- and finally, there is comfort as God wipes tears away. Note that it doesn't say there won't be tears but that God will wipe them away. I see a picture of a tender parent, wiping the tears of a distressed child: "There now, it's all better." (See also Isaiah 25:8, 35:10.)

Sometimes I wonder why we hang onto our sick and dying loved ones who have trusted Jesus so tenaciously when this is what awaits them. No matter what we go through on earth of persecution, suffering, bodily illness, or decay, we have this wonderful place to look forward to. As we face the challenges of life's race today, let's focus on this "prize" (Philippians 3:14, 1 Corinthians 9:24).


PRAYER: Dear God, heaven, as shown in the Bible, is beyond my most wonderful imaginings. Help me to keep these scenes in mind when I meet up with derision and scoffing, pain and sickness today and in the days ahead. Amen.

MORE: All Saints' Day

Today the church celebrates All Saints' Day—a commemoration of saints and martyrs who have died. The liturgy for today begins with this collect:

"Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

One Way

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 14:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6
 
If you have ever tried to find more than one way to the home of a friend who lives on a dead-end street, you will know the frustration. You circle around realizing by the numbers that your destination is very close. Yet streets don’t go through. Soon house numbers pass the one you are looking for and you know you've gone too far. The only solution is to find the one way that leads to your destination.

Jesus’ answer to Thomas’s question, “How can we know the way?” shows us we’re in a similar situation when attempting to find our way to God and heaven. Jesus’ reply, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” is a text we tend to quote as proof that Jesus is the only way to God. But in our current culture, we often feel squirmy when we do. For common wisdom—in Canada at least—is that there are many ways to God, it’s sincerity that really matters, and doing your best.

If you were asking directions to your friend’s house, whose directions would you follow, the person who told you, “I strongly believe this is how you get there. But it doesn’t really matter. You’ll get there in any case, no matter which route you take”? Or your friend, who knows the exact way because he has been there and has an intimate knowledge of the road in and out?

In the end it’s a matter of faith. Whose directions about how to come to God and get to heaven do we trust? The voice of common wisdom (which also happens to be the majority)? Or Jesus, who gave instructions on how to get there from the vantage point of someone who had already traveled the road and was familiar with the way (“And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, there you may be also”)? What a shame if, after we die, we find that we missed our destination because we didn’t follow the right directions.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for providing the way to God. Help me to be uncompromising in declaring You the way to my fellow travelers. Amen.

MORE: Today the church celebrates the Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James. Philip’s conversation with Jesus in today’s reading is part of the liturgy. It begins with this moving and powerful Collect prayer:

Almighty God, who gave to your apostles Philip and James grace and strength to bear witness to the truth: Grant that we, being mindful of their victory of faith, may glorify in life and death the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Earth tatters

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 51:1-23

TO CHEW ON: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens

And look on the earth beneath.

For the heavens will vanish away like smoke,

And the earth will grow old like a garment,

And those who dwell in it will die in like manner.

But My salvation will be forever

And My righteousness will not be abolished." Isaiah 51:6

Our society is obsessed with the state of Earth. Hardly a week goes but but we're not warned that if we don't drive less, pollute less, procreate less, use less water, fish less, and on and on, our planet is doomed. Such warnings may be warranted. For the Bible makes no secret of the fact that planet Earth will change and is temporary:

• "They will perish...yes they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak you will change them.." - Psalm 102:26 

• "The earth mourns and fades away..." - Isaiah 24:4.

• "The host of heaven shall be dissolved and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll..." - Isaiah 34:4.

• "Heaven and earth shall pass away..." - Matthew 24:35.

• "...the things which are seen are temporary..."- 2 Corinthians 4:18.

• "...the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will meet with fervent heat" - 2 Peter 3:10.

• "The world is passing away, and the lust of it" - 1 John 2:17.

In the light of all that, it is only wise to shift one's focus from the things of this transitory, mutable, doomed Earth to that which doesn't and won't change. We need to expend our energies on the things that last. What are those?

• God - Psalm 102:27; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 1:12.

• Jesus - Hebrews 13:8.

• Jesus' words - Matthew 24:35. 

• God's word - 1 Peter 1:25.

• God's dominion - Daniel 7:14.

• "The counsel of the Lord, the plans of His heart" - Psalm 33:11.

• God's salvation and righteousness - Isaiah 51:6 (our focus verse).

• Quality work built on the foundation of Jesus - 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.

("To build on the foundation a building of durable material [gold, silver, precious stones] is to teach sound doctrine and live a life of fidelity to the truth thus leading converts to spiritual maturity. To build with perishable material [wood, hay, stubble] is to provide inadequate or unsound teaching or to compromise the truth by demonstrating a lifestyle that contradicts or fails to model it" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1583.)

How easy it is to give a mental nod to the fact of Earth's impermanence while we continue to live as if it is a lasting reality.

May God grip my heart (yours too?) with His reality, so that "The things of earth will grow strangely dim / In the light of His glory and grace."

PRAYER: Dear God, I'm guilty of living as if life on Earth is the real thing. Help me to grasp, at a heart level, how brief and impermanent this life is, and to change my focus and give my energy to what is real and lasting. Amen.

MORE: "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" - Cynthia Clawson

"I did the best I could"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 3:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20

Many people, if asked why God should let them into heaven when they die, respond with some version of: "I did the best I could." Even amongst us who claim to trust Jesus alone as our means to heaven, there is sometimes a sense of earning our way by being good enough.

In our focus verse from Romans, Paul squelches any possibility of that. There's a lot to explore in this one short verse.

1. It implies the need of humans to justify* themselves before God.
Way back in His unfolding revelation, God showed at least two things about Himself:
- He is personal: note His personal appearances to Abraham, Jacob, Moses and many others.
- He is demanding: shown by the giving of the ten commandments and the Mosaic law with penalties for failing to comply.

Theologian H. C. Thiessen says, in his Lectures in Systematic Theology: "The specifications of the divine commands with the announced penalty which would follow failures to obey served to arouse a conviction of guilt and fear of the consequences of sin" - p. 276.

2. It tells us that we can't be justified by keeping the law.
Though we do still take the Ten Commandments as our standard of morality, "They are repeated for our instruction as to what the will of the Lord is, but not as precepts that we are to endeavour to keep in order to become righteous. 'That would be useless,' Paul says,'by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified'" - Thiessen, p. 242.


3. It implies there is a way to be justified.
It is through Jesus. He paid the death penalty for our sin. We trust in Him alone.

"Paul declares that by the works of the law no flesh is justified in His sight. The law merely serves to reveal sin and to impel the convicted soul to flee to Christ. Jesus taught that the 'work of God' is to 'believe on Him whom He hath sent (John 6:29).


Men are not saved by 'doing the best they can' as the statement is commonly understood; but they are saved by 'doing the best they can' if thereby they mean that they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:12)." - Thiessen p. 365.

No matter how "good" we are, it's not enough to save us. We are all, from the most heinous murderer to the most saintly Mother Teresa, on level ground before God and in need of Jesus' death to be justified (i.e. reconciled with God).


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus who kept the law, and then died in my stead because I can't keep it. Help me to hold my dependence on You and Your justification through Jesus always in mind. Amen.


MORE: "Welcome to the place of level ground" by Brian Doerksen



"Welcome to the place of level ground" lyrics and cord chart.

*Justify: 
1] To show to be just, right or reasonable; vindicate.
2] To declare or prove guiltless or blameless, absolve, excuse.
3] To cause to be free of grievous sin, and be reconciled with God.