Press on

Philippians 3:12

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Remember the words of Paul, Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me (Phil. 3:12). We have a responsibility to lay aside what easily entangles us and look toward Jesus and press on. He has overcome and in Him we are overcomers! Don’t quit, keep pressing on!

You Mustn’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest! if you must – but never quit.

Life is queer, with its twist and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won if he’d stuck it out;

Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow –

You may succeed with one more blow.

Success is failure turned inside out –

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt –

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –

It’s when things seem worst that YOU MUSTN’T QUIT.

- author Unknown, from Along The Road To Manhood

by Stu Webber, p. 92.

Dying thief or living thief?

Years ago, a Signs of the Times author wrote a short reflection about the thief who died on a cross next to Jesus.

A man was once asked, “Are you a believer in the Christina religion?” 

“Oh, certainly!” the man replied. “You are a member of some church, then, I suppose?” his questioner asked.

                “No, indeed.  Why should I join a church? The dying thief wasn’t a member of a church, and he will be in heaven.”

“But of course you have been baptized.”  “Oh, no.  I am as safe as the dying thief was, and he never was baptized”.

                “ But since you will not join a church or be baptized, you will give your means to help others in some way?”  “Of course not! The dying thief--” The friend interrupted, Let me remark that you seem to be on pretty intimate terms with the dying thief.  You derive a great deal of consolation from his career.  But there is one importation difference between you and him.  He is a dying thief.  You are a living one.”

Adapted from Sings of the Times, November 6, 1893

Pharaoh's Lies

                                                Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Exodus 8:1

The command of God is clear. "Let my people go, so they can serve me." Although God was speaking to pharaoh of old the command has not changed. Today, God is calling us out captivity. He is calling us out of bondage, out of the hands of the destructive slave master of sin driven by a tyrant who despises us to the core. Like Pharaoh of long ago our enemy (sin) will not release its iron grasp on our lives easily. However, unlike the people of God in Egypt we are the ones who can make the choice to leave. The gates are open and all we have to do is choose to step through and keep moving away from the place of bondage. The reality is if we stay close we are in danger of going back.



Pharaoh’s response to God’s command are deceitful compromises. Study them well:



1. Exodus 8:25”Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land."



IN THE LAND - THE LIE: He told the Israelites that they can stay in the land and do their "religious living" right there in the land, still in bondage, still under his control. He tried to convince them that there is no reason to leave. You can stay right here and serve God. "

THE TRUTH: You cannot! You have been called out! The call is clear “Come out of her my people, Babylon has fallen! (Revelation 18:4) The reality is "the land" represents sin and bondage to sin. Jesus came to save us, not IN our sins, but FROM our sins. If He doesn't save us from our sins, He doesn't save us at all. There is no such thing as partial salvation. Sin is a cancer that kills. If you don't kill it, it kills you. Through Jesus you must get sin out of you and then you must get away for the land of sin!



2. Exodus 8:28 “I will let you go; only you shall not go very far away."

THE LIE: I will let you go . . .

THE TRUTH:  The enemy has no intentions of letting you go.  He will never relinquish his hold over you without a fight.  He will do whatever it takes to keep you in his kingdom of bondage and destruction including destroying you!  He absolutely HATES you!  Like Pharoah used his slaves and disregarded their needs, the enemy also will use you as disposable trash!  He will not let you go...he will only destroy you and then toss you aside. (John 10:10).

THE LIE: You can serve God (under his breath) but not too far away.

See how the enemy would have us linger near Egypt. Near enough to hear the sounds, see the sights, breathe the tainted atmosphere. Just near enough to be slowly contaminated, tempted and drawn back to the bondage of sin ruled by a tyrannical master who set on ruling and ruining us body, mind and soul.

Our enemy whispers this lie to many who heard Christ call, "All right, go serve Jesus - only don't go too far away.” “Don't worry about the little things.” “Don't get rid of your old ways, your old music, and your old friends. You can still hang out- who knows you might be able to convert them - but if you go too far away that will not be possible. Plus you don't want to come across as too religious, closed minded, intolerant and lonely do you?"

THE TRUTH: The old serpent likes to keep you close to charm you helplessly back into the jaws of death. The real deal; Drop everything that will hold you back and run! Run while you can. Run from sin! Go and serve the Lord as he has said, leave the land of bondage and never look back!

He Never Stops!

“My Father never stops working, and so I keep working too.”

John 5:17

My savior never stops work on the behalf of fallen mankind. He is ever pursuing, ever drawing, ever directing, and ever loving each and every one of us. His work on the cross was not finished in the sense that He has done all He could do or would for us – not at all!* We now have a high priest interceding for us at the throne of redemption. He never stops loving, caring and calling! He is never weary or heavy laden. He is never too busy or too far (Psalm 145:18, Jeremiah 33:3). The entire Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) are always working on behalf of each life on earth – personally, redeeming them to the kingdom of God. God wants NO ONE to perish but all to come to eternal life! (2 Peter 3:19) So He will never stop working, loving and drawing us back to him! ( Hebrews 13:5)

*Caveat:

When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke his final words upon the cross, these were not words of defeat but words of victory He did not say, I’m finished, but, It is finished. These were words of victory! Victory for Christ and victory for all who choose to know Him as Savior. I do not believe these words were whispered - they were shouted!

"It is finished!" The purpose of His hour has been completed,

and the consequences of His work are enduring.

• Christ's work of suffering is now done.

• His physical life on earth was finished

• It meant His work on earth was finished. Jesus has completed the work God has sent Him to do on this earth (John 4:34).



Word Up

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

John 1:1-4

The Word became flesh.

John tells us that in the beginning, (that is before we began) there was the Word and the Word was with God. And God spoke to the Word and said “Let us make man in our image.” And by God’s Word there was light and creation exploded from the Word. All things were made through [the Word] and nothing was made without the Word. For thousands of years the Lord continued to speak the Word and many of His chosen people wrote down the Word. By this Word, millions are encouraged, lead, and strengthen to find a safe way to life and a safe way to die. But that was not enough for God just to speak the way to heaven. He sent the Word to show us the way back to Him. So the Word became flesh. The Word became alive. Living, breathing, laughing, crying, healing and dying – for us!

People often wonder why Jesus came to earth. He came to show us God’s love. To fully demonstrate the height and depth, the length and measure God will go to bring us back to Him - To save us from our own choices. He sent us His Word in the form of parchment and ink. But that was not enough. The pages declared His love - The pages spoken from old strengthen and comfort this aching soul – but talk for many talk is cheap and action takes sacrifice. And Sacrifice it did. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He became a walking message, a living love letter to the world. Jesus came to demonstrate God’s love in way that could never be denied. He was the Word of life. He split darkness and time. The Word became flesh to demonstrate how great the Father Loves’ is for us. God so loved the world He gave the most valuable loved one He could give. The Word became flesh. He gave the Word to lead us home. The Word came and will come again to take us home. The Word is alive! The Word is love!

The Word is Jesus!

Check out this video by Casting Crowns.  I so love the declaration that the Word is alive and the power of how the written Word of God was written with such diversity of time and people with a cohesiveness that is unheard of.

Seek & Save

Luke 19:10

Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost.

Over the past few days the kids and I have been studying the parables Jesus taught while he was on earth and Amelia came to a surprising self revelation. Turning to me with a smile so big she revealed, “Mommy, did you notice that a lot of these parables are about something lost?” I told her she had just been shown the true meaning of Jesus’ mission. He did not come to be recognized as a good teacher or a great leader of the law. No he came to seek – to find, to draw fallen mankind back to God. He came to save all that was lost. He came to seek and save.

All other religions with their deity require man to reach up in order to acquire enlightenment to rise to a higher level of oneness with the “universe”. But not my God – Maybe I am not familiar enough with paganism, Buddhism, Hindi and such, but I never heard of their deity lovingly reaching down – sacrificing their status in the cosmos to seek & save!

My God gave. Practically everyone in the western world has heard that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16, 17. But many people don’t know is that God was in Christ, reconciling the world (restoring his relationship with humanity) to himself. 2 Corinthians 5:19. My God stepped out of eternity into time to seek and save that which was lost. My God left the throne room of heaven filled with the adoration and song of magnificent angels to be hunted during his seeking (ministry) and despised and hated as he saved (on a dirty roman cross).

Why? Because He is love! Love is not something He does – but it is who he is! Love seeks & saves. He came to give! He came to give each one of us the life he designed for us from the foundation of the earth and that is abundant and full. John 10:10 Ephesians 1:3,4 He came to give us a life that is eternal and when you respond to his seeking & accept his saving eternity begins that same hour.

His love us with a love that not only reaches down – but came down to bring us up. A love that sacrificed it all for all – still knowing only a few will choose this redeeming love.

All are lost and have gone astray, even if they don’t know it (Isaiah 53:6  Romans 3:23) And love came down to see that which is lost (even if they don’t accept it). He is not willing to sit on his throne and watch for love takes no pleasure in pain. He came, he died, and he rose again – conquering death and the dominion that leads us all astray. One day, whether we believe it or not – LOVE will split the sky to bring home his redeemed! My God seeks & saves!

Does not that love melt your heart?



Eternity

Eternal life? What exactly is eternity? Eternity is a difficult concept to wrap our minds around. For some religions eternal life is a cyclic process of being born again and again into the same world with the same problem of sin, death and dying. I know for myself the promise of coming back to this world filled with loss and pain sprinkled with good is not a comfort for me. The concept of eternity is written in the very DNA of mankind…God did not create us to die but to live forever so we are all longing for eternity. But how long is eternity? It is said, “If each grain of sand on every beach in the whole world represented 1 million years, you would not have even put a dent in eternity.” Eternity is a difficult concept for our finite minds to comprehend. Yet, it is eternity or eternal life that God offers us all.

This ceaseless life that our eternal God offers us is not something we can ever begin to comprehend here on this earth (1 Corinthians 2:9). Revelation 21:4 tells us in this new endless life God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." We will have joy and peace forever! I don’t know about you but I am growing very weary with all the suffering and disease my friends, family and society is experiences. However, I am comforted to know, that I know the one who holds the future in his hands. I get excited that I know the end of the story and that I have read the back of the book! That death will be swallowed up and destroyed (Isaiah 25:8)

I know that I know, that I know! And this is how you can know too. This is how you can claim eternal life as your future:

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3

Eternal life requires a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. It requires spending time with our Lord, learning and leaning on His everlasting arms. Trusting Him; believing on Him (not just in Him – James 2:19) Getting to know Him (not just of Him). Eternal life is simplistic:

Accept Him

Believe on Him,

Trust on Him

Know Him



Prayer song: Jesus let us come to know you, let us see you face to face!

Let the Journey Begin!

Throughout the Christmas season of 2010 my little family and I opened each worship with a prayer song by Michael Card called "Jesus, Let Us Come to Know You. This has been my prayer for my spiritual life ever since I first met my forever friend Jesus 20 years ago.

Here are the words that have become my personal and family goal.

Jesus, let us come to know you,

Let us see You face to face.

Touch us, hold us, use us, mold us,

Only let us live in You.

Jesus, draw us ever nearer,

Hold us in your loving arms.

Wrap us in Your gentle presence,

When the end comes bring us home.

In 2011, I would like to invite not only my family but my friends to know Jesus - not know of him but know Him personally and intimately. I pray that we all will believe on Him and not just in Him. That they will "be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18, 19

This is the purpose of my blog in 2011 - I dedicate it to the ones I love and the my One True Love - Jesus. May the words of this blog lift Jesus up and allow Him to draw you to Him. He is so amazing! Let the journey begin!

John 12:32