"Real life"

In my last post, I ended by saying that this life is not really our "real" life; we are here so briefly.  The life that we will live for eternity is what is most important.  Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."-Matthew 6:19
As for me, I'm not concerned with having treasure there, I only want to be there, at the feet of my Master.
What a privilege it will be to kneel before Him!  Eternity is a long time and what waits for us there is beyond our imaginations.  This world will be difficult:

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, his must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels.- Mark 8:34-38

What is it to lose your life for Christ?  One immediately thinks of the martyrs, but I believe here Jesus is talking about the way we live our lives.  Do we live for Him, making Him and the gospel our top priority, or do we spend the majority of our time on earthly cares and concerns?  Of course we must care for our families, work, etc., but when we lose our lives for Christ, we put Him and His work at the top of the list.

My pastor said something interesting the other day.  He said, "If all Christians lived as you do, what would the church be like?"  Something worth considering, as all of us together make up Christ's body here on earth.

So let us shine the light of God's love at every opportunity.  No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts in under a bed.  Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.- Luke 8:16

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will  never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."- John 8:12

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.- Romans 12:2

I can tell you from my own experiences that when I set aside myself and follow God's will, that is when I have peace even in the most brutal storms life can dish up.  There will come a time when we have no more troubles, no more sadness, no more pain; when we leave this world and go home to where we belong.
In the time we have left let us continue to bear fruit for His kingdom.

Let us also remember that we cannot do this in our own power.  Our salvation is by grace alone, and the power within us is the Holy Spirit.  He gives us strength and courage that we don't have in ourselves.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.  and so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.-Romans 8:1-4

No matter our current circumstances, if we are in Christ, we are not alone.  Nothing can separate us from Him!  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.- Romans 8:35-39  This is one of my favorite verses.  It is such a comfort to know that nothing can separate us from the love that my Savior has for us!

It's so important to remember that his world is not our home...it is a temporary place, a faint shadow of things to come.  Many people worry that we may be entering the last days, but whether that is true or not, we will certainly have a last day of our own...most of us have less than one hundred years.  Every so often it's good to take a good hard look at ourselves and our priorities.  It's so easy to slip into the cares of this world, and it's easy to put off sharing the gospel... we don't want to offend, do we?  Share in love.  Plant seeds.  God will water them, and you just might be surprised at who comes to meet you when you enter the Kingdom that you thought weren't listening.

Here's a beautiful song about what is in store for us when we leave here.  I hope you enjoy it and it brings you hope, because one day there will be a day with no more tears or suffering.

Wishing you blessings.

Which is the greatest commandment?

So, which is the most important?  Jesus answered this in Matthew:


Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:34-40
Under the Law, there were 613 rules to live by.  I love how Jesus was able to simplify Law down to these two!
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."-John 15:9-12
The outward sign of our relationship with our Father should be love.  Not just for those who love us, but for all.  In my recent post "Make my life a song" I included a video called Proof of Your Love by For King and Country that makes 1 Corinthians 13, the classic definition of love, into a song.  If you haven't heard it, take a listen.  Love is what should define us.
The world tends to view the church as judgmental finger pointers, and there is unfortunately some truth to that.  But we would do well to remember Matthew 7:1-2: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, your will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
I believe I'll leave the judging to the one whose job it is to do that when the time has come.  Our job is to spend our time here loving the people who cross our paths.
We often never know the stories of the people we come across in passing.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say that those who are homeless "chose" to be so.  Maybe.  But 23 years ago I was homeless myself and there was a whole lot more to the story.  


Wishing you all blessings. Love one another!

Passing it on

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.-Matthew 10:42

Remember when it became popular to do random acts of kindness?  It's a wonderful idea.  In fact, my pastor exhorts us to do at least one thing each day for someone as the Spirit prompts us.  Last week, when I had someone in the hospital that I was really worried for, a woman came out of the chapel and stood next to me by the elevator.  I could tell that she'd been crying.  I struggled with myself, because I didn't want to intrude, but I turned to her and asked softly if she was okay.  When she turned her face toward me, I could see a bit of relief; she did want to talk.  She told me that her aunt was dying, and she'd be gone in a few hours at most.  I listened to her story all the way up to her floor, and prayed for her and her aunt to have peace and comfort.  In the end I felt blessed to be able to be there, if only briefly.
My pastor has a lot of ideas of things we can do for people.  One that has really caught on is to pay an extra ten or twenty dollars if you can afford it towards the person behind you in a fast food drive through. This makes it totally anonymous, because you're gone by the time they find out about it.  So many people were doing this there was an article in our local paper!
The Spirit will prompt you.  I challenge you to step out in faith and do those acts of kindness, and don't be afraid to share your faith.  The world is starving for it.