The Thought of Heaven

This Must Be What Heaven Will Be Like

Have You ever had one of those moments you just wish would stand still, because it was so perfect, so rapturous?  Even in the moment thinking this is what heaven must be like.  (Thank you Joni Erickson Tada for this reminder in Finding God In Hidden Places)

CS LEWIS said " one day you'll bathe in peace like this...satisfaction will shower you...this Joy will last forever."

As the hymn writer penned it in:
Jesus The Very Thought Of Thee

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
  With sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
  And in Thy presence rest.

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
  Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name,
  O Savior of mankind!

O Hope of every contrite heart,
  O Joy of all the meek,
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
  How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah, this
  Nor tongue nor pen can show;
The love of Jesus, what it is
  None but His loved ones know.

O Jesus! light of all below!
  Thou fount of life and fire!
Surpassing all the joys we know,
  And all we can desire.

No other source have we but Thee,
  Soul-thirst to satisfy.
Exhaustless spring! the waters free!
  All other streams are dry.

Jesus, our only Joy be Thou,
  As Thou our Prize wilt be;
Jesus, be Thou our Glory now,
  And through eternity

The Cost

The Cost To Free

Salvation is full and free!  But what we often fail to acknowledge is the cost.  We know the cost to our Savior Jesus Christ, just read the crucifixion account or watch the movie The Passion of the Christ.  There is also a cost to the Christ follower, are you willing to pay the price? AW TOZER said it this way....

"The gospel is the official Proclamation that Christ died for us and is risen again, with the added announcement that everyone who will believe, and as a result of that belief will cast in his lot with Christ in full and final committal, shall be saved eternally. He.... Will not be popular and...
He will be called to stand where Jesus stood before the world: to be admired by many, loved by few and rejected At Last by the majority of men. He must be willing to pay this price, or let him go his way; Christ has nothing more to say to him now."

Are You Ready To Be Offered?

Just A Drop In The Bucket?

Oswald Chambers said it better than anyone I have ever read when it comes to being a servant and sacrificing.

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.  Philippians 2:17

Are you willing to be offered for the work of the faithful, to pour out your lifeblood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say, "I'm not going to be offered up just yet, I do not want God to choose my work. I want to choose the scenery of my own sacrifice; I want to have the right kind of people watching and saying,  'Well done'".
It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a doormat under other people's feet. Suppose God wants to teach you to say, "I know how to be abased", are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket, to be so  hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with a life you served? Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work and remain saints because it's beneath their dignity.

Future

Back to the Future

Remember those images.  If not, you are young and I am jealous.  However the future is far better than the past.  Getting old , wearing out and dealing with Biff(you know the jerk in Back to the Future) Can't wait for that ultimate transformation!  The future will be amazing!

And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons--the redemption and transformation of our body [at the resurrection]. For in this hope we were saved [by faith]. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.  ROMANS 8:23‭-‬25

In Between

The In Between Places

Are you looking for God in those in between places?  Those places where we would, at least in our minds, not find Him.  Broken down on the side of the road, cleaning up vomit, waiting in line, while conflict is ensuing, cleaning the ice off your windshield making you late etc.

Oh sure at church during preaching and worship, and when I was holding my sweet granddaughter and looking into her innocent face, but what about those in between places?

"[I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people), and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength which He produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,..."  Eph. 1:17-20

Sin Trivialized

Trivializing Sin

Been there done that and have the mental, emotional and spiritual scars to prove it, unfortunantely. All I lack is a T-shirt.

Listen to what Bishop J.C. Ryle said:
" We are too apt to forget that temptation to sin will rarely present itself and its true colors. Never when we are tempted will we here sin say to us, "I am your deadly enemy... I want to ruin your life." That's not how it works. Sin, instead, comes to us like Judas with a kiss... but we cannot alter its nature and character in the sight of God."

Isn't it interesting how little things, seemingly insignificant little tiny sins, can be the litmus test of our love for Jesus. 

J.C. Ryle goes on to say " of all the things that will surprise us in the resurrection morning, this, I believe will surprised us the most: that we did not love Christ more before we died."

All because of a "little" sin(s) that we just pushed aside as insignificant.

I was reminded of this today from a little book written by Joni Erickson Tada entitled "Finding God In Hidden Places" Get a copy and read her stories of vulnerability and grace. 

My Way

I Did It My Way

How often have I done this.....regretfully more times than I care to recount.

"......and [foolishly] did not ask for the counsel of the Lord."  JOSHUA 9:14