Identity Theft

Several days ago, I took the PSAT. It’s only offered once a year, and it only counts towards a scholarship when you take it as a junior in highschool. Needless to say, I was nervous. That scholarship would help so much! And it looks so good on an application to say you’re a National Merit Scholar...

That made me start thinking about who I am. How do you define yourself? Do you let test scores and competitions define who you are? It is so easy to get caught up in the excitement of winning and being known for how great you can do something...that competitive spirit wants to be #1 in everything so that the world–or at least your friends–will know just how great you are. But that is not what life is about! It’s about how great God is! All those trophies, scholarships, and titles you win won’t make a bit of difference when you stand before God after you die. When God asks you why He should let you go to Heaven, are you going to list off all your accomplishments? No way! The only way we can go to Heaven is by realizing that all our "accomplishments" are nothing at all! They are, as Paul says in Philippians 3, rubbish. They are something to be thrown away. Defining ourselves by anything temporal is useless. It doesn’t matter if it’s a test score, a piano competition, or even winning Bible Bee–none of that is going to matter at all for eternity.

So where do you find identity if not in what you’ve done in this world? Our identity is in Christ. We boast only Christ’s righteousness. We don’t have any righteousness on our own; imputed righteousness is all we can brag about. Seriously, when you think about it, bragging about what we can do is pretty wimpy sounding. When you view all our mighty works compared to what the Creator and Savior of the world has done, nothing we do is great. Boasting that Christ has taken our sin upon Himself to us His righteousness is all we can say. Galatians 6:14–But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

No test score or competition really matters. All that stuff is going to fade away. "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever." (1 Peter 1:24-25) Don’t let your identity in Christ be stolen by a false identity in something else. Every other "identity" we have is fake, and when we stand before the Lord, all those false identities will be stripped away. The only identity that matters is that of Christ.

Eternity

Today I attended a funeral. Yes, I had the joy of being present at a memorial service of a dear, Christian man named Harold Reiner. I would have rather been there than anywhere else. Why? Let me explain.

This man, Uncle Harold as I knew him, was a Christian giant. He had fought the good fight, he had finished the race, he had kept the faith. He had served as a missionary to Brazil faithfully for over sixty years. He was completely surrendered to the call of the Lord. No matter what circumstances he faced, he consistently did what the Lord wanted him to do. He faced many, many hardships throughout his life. His first wife died, leaving him the father of four kids. He lost two of his children in a plane accident. But, no matter what, he still faithfully finished the course that the Lord had laid out for him. He never gave in. His heart's desire was to see the unreached people reached. Through his work, there are now thirteen churches and two camps in existence and hundreds of lives saved.

I had the amazing privilege to be impacted by Uncle Harold. I was able to go down to Brazil and see all the different places where he had ministered. I spent countless hours traveling with him and was able to hear story after story after story of all his adventures in Brazil and how God had used him in his ministry. He always was encouraging me to follow the Lord. He always had a verse to share, a quote to get you thinking about.

And now, Uncle Harold's journey on earth is over. All the trials and hardships are over. He finished his course. He is now in the presence of our Lord, rejoicing and praise Him. 1 Thessalonians 4 talks about how we as Christians don't sorrow as those who have no hope. Why? Because we have the amazing hope of heaven. Uncle Harold is freed from the pains and sorrows of this world. He is in a better place. This is reason to rejoice!!

At the funeral, Uncle Harold's son shared some thoughts. When we leave this earth, we will take no possessions with us. Only two things about our earthly life will matter for eternity. First, the legacy we leave behind. Second, the people that we reached with the Gospel. Uncle Harold left an amazing legacy. His life shared the message of complete surrender to the Lord. He made so many great memories with everyone he knew. He also reached hundreds of people with the Gospel. His work on this earth is over, but what he did here will last for all of eternity.

What about us, though? What does all this have to do with us? Well, we are still on this earth. We still have to run the race that is set before us. Will we follow the Lord's call? Will what we do here in this life count for the rest of eternity? What kind of legacy are we creating? How many people are we reaching with the Gospel message? We only have one short life to live before we enter eternity. I don't know about you, but I want my life to count. I don't want to waste it. What will be said of us when we leave this world? We, as Christians, have heaven to look forward to! Let's keep our eyes on the prize as we run the race set before us. May our heart's prayer be to have it said of us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

So, why would I have rather been at the funeral than anywhere else? Because I get to think about eternity. I get to remember Uncle Harold's life and be encouraged to keep pressing on until I reach heaven as well.

Blessings, friends!

Happily ever after

My family has a tradition of setting aside Friday evening as family night. We research the latest BBC adaptions of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, and all our other favorite authors, and then count the days till we get to watch the movie. When the day finally comes, we leave 21st century America and travel to old England. We become so engrossed in the movie that someone listening to our conversations would think that Lizzie Bennet, Horatio Hornblower, Molly Gibson, and Arthur Clennam were our best friends.

This last Friday, after finishing Our Mutual Friend, I was thinking about how nice happy endings are. All the good people end up happily married, and all the bad guys end up either dead or unhappy bachelors (since of course in English drama the married state represents ultimate bliss). With Dickens, it feels a lot more complex, but it generally boils down to that=) Something in us longs for a happy ending. When a bad guy gets what’s good and a good guy gets what’s bad, our sense of justice starts yelling at the author. We want a good ending. God made us that way. He, the Author of life, promises us that He has already written a happy ending for us.

Revelation 21:4-5--And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

In Bible Bee the past few weeks, we’ve been studying about inheritance, salvation, and suffering. In a good story, the good people end with some sort of inheritance or treasure that usually comes about through a redemptive process. Normally, the redemptive process involves suffering. Why do we enjoy watching good characters suffer? Through the suffering, they grow up into stronger characters. They become deserving of the happy ending–the inheritance–that we sincerely hope will happen.

In real life, we don’t usually go through a challenging year and then find ourselves possessors of large fortunes. The inheritance that we’ve been promised isn’t an earthly inheritance; we will only find it in heaven. Oftentimes, we hear Romans 8:28 quoted to us when we’re struggling. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Why do good people suffer? What about the trial that never results in any good? God doesn’t promise us that He will make all things work together for good in our lifetime; He promises is that He will make all things work together for good in His plan. Sometimes the good doesn't come till after our lifetime; we see the good when we are in heaven. Maybe Dickens wrote a good chapter-long ending at the end of 600 pages, but God promises a good ending for all of eternity! Praise God for His promises!

Only One Life...

I have been blessed and challenged by this hymn lately; Only One Life. Here are the words of it:

Only one life to offer

Jesus, my Lord and King;

Only one tongue to praise Thee

And of Thy mercy sing

Only one heart's devotion

Savior, O may it be

Consecrated alone to Thy matchless glory

Yielded fully to Thee.

Only this hour is mine, Lord

May it be used for Thee;

May ev'ry passing moment

Count for eternity

Souls all about are dying,

Dying in sin and shame;

Help me bring them

The message of Calv'ry's redemption

In Thy glorious name.

Only one life to offer

Take it, dear Lord, I pray;

Nothing from Thee withholding,

Thy will I now obey;

Thou who hast freely given

Thine all in all for me,

Claim this life

For Thine own to be used, my Savior,

Ev'ry moment for Thee.

We only have one life....we'll only live today once....let's make it count for eternity!

Grace be with you!

Life in abundance!

Jesus gives such a joy and purpose to life, doesn't He?! We have so many reasons to rejoice! I read through Romans 8 this morning because I was needing some encouragement, and I knew that if I read there I would be refreshed and reminded! Well, here's what I read today that is making me rejoice:)
"There is therefore NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus!" As believers, we have a life of ultimate freedom in Christ ahead of us!

"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, GOD DID!" Do you ever get discouraged with how sinful you are? Look at Christ! What the law could not do, God did! We have been saved and called with a Holy Calling, not according to our works, but according to Christ's righteousness! We have been saved!

"But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give you LIFE!" We, as born-again believers, have been given the very Spirit of God that raised Christ from the dead! We have been freely given life!

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God!" Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know what His master is doing. But now I call you friends!" We are the sons and daughters of the KING OF KINGS!

"And if children, then heirs-heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." One day Christ will come back, every knee shall bow to Him, and we will share in His glory forever! We will be in His presence for all eternity!

I have run out of time to write, but I hope this is an encouragement to you! There are 39 verses in this chapter, and I've only covered the first seventeen. I'd encourage you to go read it for yourself! You will be blessed!

What REALLY matters

"After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne there were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne there proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, teh third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying,"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!" Whenever the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 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, OLord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created ALL things, and by Your will they exsist and were created."

I love this passage! I am a very visual person, and this passage gives exact details concerning the heavenly throne room! Can't you just picture it in your mind? Of course, we can't ACTUALLY picture how it really is, but even in our minds, it is absolutely amazing! And WE get to go there! Lots of times I think of heaven as being there during the triblulation, or for the wedding supper of the lamb, or just some time in the future. But one thing I think is very interesting is that heaven is "going on" right NOW!!! Jesus Christ is preparing our homes, and getting it ready for when we join Him! It makes me wonder what else is going on up there. And what we're going to be doing up there for eternity! But the Bible tells us! We will be "glorifying and praising God" all our days! We will never tire of it! Our God is SO AWESOME, He deserves all our praise, our respect, our admiration, our worship, and our very lives!! It is so amazing that the God who CREATED THE WORLD cares about each and every one of us. Everybody in the world. He knows what we're going to do tomorrow, what we're going to say and do in ten years (unless He comes before that) and He knew all of that before He created the world! Often times I get caught up in the world, what's going on NOW, and making plans for what I'm going to do. But what really matters is how we will spend eternity! I'm not trying to say that it doesn't matter what you do on earth, because it does. But ONLY the things done for our Lord and Savior will count for anything in heaven. We need to ask ourselves, "will what I'm doing right now stand the test of fire at the judgement?" Ok, you don't have to ask yourself EXACTLY that, but something of that s0rt:) The point is, keeping it at the back of our minds that EVERYTHING we do is written in the books, and only the things done for Christ will count for anything. Wouldn't it be terrible to get to heaven, and you don't have any crowns to lay before our Lord? It's like the parable when Jesus talked about the servant who was given a talent, dug a hole, buried it, and then when his master came that was all he had to give to him. I want to be like the one with five talents, who gained five more and had ten to offer to his master! So this is the challenge: think about what you're doing, and try to do what will matter for eternity, not just today. Sometimes it can be hard, and you REALLY want to do a certain thing, but maybe you can use that thing to further the gospel, or you could turn that thing into a tool to praise and honor the Lord! May the Lord bless you all as you live for Him!!!