Earth into Heaven

Have your heart right with Christ,

and he will visit you often,

and so turn weekdays into Sundays,

meals into sacraments,

homes into temples,

and earth into heaven.

~Charles H. Spurgeon

Doesn’t that sound lovely? Having ever earthly thing turn into its heavenly counterpart? If your heart is right with Christ, it will happen–earth becomes heaven! When your heart is sanctified (1 Peter 3:15), your life will become sanctified. Jesus’ set-apartness will change the common into the holy.

Have you ever felt that Sundays are the best day of the week, and that Communion Sunday was filled with an even more special joy? Sometimes when we walk into a friend’s home, we sense a certain peace and joy that overflows onto us. That is the kind of home that is filled with Christ’s love. We can have all of that by keeping our hearts right with Christ!

Traveling

This weekend, my family drove across the country to visit our family.  It was a long drive--20 hours!--but we have done it many times and look forward to our long family car trips.  They give us plenty of time to read, study, listen to sermons, and stare out the window.  This year, the ride was relatively uneventful.  Last summer, it wasn't, but that's another story=)  We pulled in the driveway after 3 a.m., and several very sweet cousins were still awake to help us unload.  For the next few weeks, we will be visiting a state that, although very familiar and "homey" from many years of visiting, is still not quite our home. 

It's a good reminder of what we began our summer thinking about in 1 Peter: The pilgrims, strangers, and aliens scattered around the world (1 Peter 1:1).  We can settle down here and enjoy being with family--some of our best memories were made here--but we won't be at home.  We're travelers.

During the drive, my older sister was reading and old edition of Pilgrim's Progress.  In the book, she noticed that Bunyan used the verbs "travel" and "travail" interchangeably (don't you love reading olde English!).  We were traveling to our grandparents.  Pilgrim was travailing to the Celestial City.  Traveling means we are going from one place to another on a journey; travailing means we are laboring and toiling.  When our traveling is difficult, we travail.  When we travail, we travel.  Our suffering doesn't leave us in the same place!  We travel from one place to another!

2 Corinthians 7:10-11--For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner:  What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication!  In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Godly sorrow, or suffering, is not in vain!  Sometimes when our travailing seems in vain and we pray for strength, it still seems like we can't get through...things don't get easier.  But, as my pastor says, God's answer to prayer may not be taking the trial away.  It may simply be the strength to get through the day so you return to Him the next day and ask for more grace.

As we enter the last 20 days before the local Bible Bee competition, our travailing is getting more intense.  It's almost time!  Yet our journey is nowhere near over--Bible Bee is only the beginning.

Keep traveling and travailing to the Celestial City, Pilgrim!

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!

The royal wedding

Did any of you watch the royal wedding on Friday? I must confess–I woke up early to watch it (other than family movie nights, I think I’ve watched TV only one or two other times this year...). I really enjoyed it. Even though Prince William and Kate may not necessarily be strong Christians, the ceremony was full of some of the most beautiful, God-glorifying hymns they could have chosen, and they actually had Kate’s brother recite Romans 12! It was definitely worth waking up early to watch!

I imagined what it must have been like to receive an invitation to the wedding. That would be so exciting! To be able to meet real princes and princesses, to see Westminster Abbey, to hear those hymns live–I would never forget it. Wouldn’t it be fun to meet the queen? I have a friend who met her when he was younger (and I was just a bit jealous when I heard!). Then, I remembered what I had written just last week: Jesus is the King of kings, and we will get to meet Him! What is Queen Elizabeth compared to Him? As I was thinking about meeting the King of all kings, I remembered another exciting promise. We are invited to His wedding feast! Revelation 19:6-9 tells us about the wedding of the Lamb. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Wow! We are not the "lucky" few invited to the British royal wedding, we are the blessed believers who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! How infinitely more wonderful is that!

After watching Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, it’s hard to imagine a bigger wedding. Perhaps we won’t see a bigger wedding on earth. But the wedding supper of the Lamb is guaranteed to be far more glorious than any earthly wedding; and, the best part about it for us is that we’ve been invited!

Victory!

Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory! (1 Corinthians 15:54)

Why does it matter that a Jewish carpenter who lived 2000 years ago lived to tell about when He was crucified by the Romans?

1 Corinthians 15:21-22– For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Romans 6:3-11–Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8–For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

1 Peter 1:3--Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:57–But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because we believe that that Jewish carpenter still lives, we also can live. His death gave us hope, life, and the victory.

Have a wonderful day rejoicing at Christ’s resurrection from the dead and His redemptive work in us!

He is not here, for He is risen!! (Matthew 28:6)

Watch where you're going!

A few days ago, my dad and I went out driving. Overall, it went well–I stayed within the speed limit, didn’t run any red lights, and took some very sharp turns without ending up in the gutter. It was almost fun. Nothing went terribly wrong and it was a beautiful spring day. The flowers were blooming and the trees were all lovely shades of green. It was so pretty that it was distracting. I wanted to look at all the flowers instead of the road. When we passed a neighborhood, I would turn and look at the road I could have taken instead of the one I was on. As soon as I started looking the other direction and wondering what was on the other path, I would start drifting towards it. My dad would call my attention back to the road and remind me to straighten the car. Maybe I had only drifted a few inches off the right path, but a few inches the wrong way is enough to be very dangerous. Just a few inches in the lane of oncoming traffic with a truck coming at me could kill me. But those other roads were so pretty I couldn’t help but look...what was at the end of them?

Does your walk with Christ ever feel like that? Everything’s going well. Life is good. And then you see something another road that looks ever so inviting. You know you need to follow Christ and stay on His path, but you turn your head to see what it looks like...and the temptation grows. Without realizing it, you drift just a tiny bit into the wrong lane. You’re still on the right road, but part of you is leaning on the other side. That is a dangerous position.

Proverbs 4:25 says to let your eyes looks straight ahead. If you’re looking ahead on the right path, you won’t drift onto the wrong one. Keep your eyes on the road.

In Philippians 3, Paul says that he forgets what he left behind–those streets he passed by–and reached forward to what was ahead–Christ. He pressed toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Genesis 19:26 gives an example of someone who looked back at what she left behind instead of forward toward the grace she had been given: Lot’s wife. What happened? She became a pillar of salt. Don’t look away.

Paul said that he did not run with uncertainty (1 Corinthians 9:26). The easiest way to get lost is to not know where you’re going. Don’t be uncertain where you’re heading! All roads lead to one of two places: Heaven or Hell. Only one will get you to Heaven; all the rest will take you to Hell. Stick to the right path with certainty! Don’t turn aside. Don’t look back. Set your eyes on things above and keep them there!

Don’t look down the other roads even though you might not ever see them again. You might always wonder “what would have happened.” But, as Aslan told Lucy, “Child, that is not your story.” Don’t wander down paths that are not in your story. Stay on the one your Author mapped out for you.

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!!!