Walking With Jesus

Our Highest Standard

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT)

The Greek world in which the Christian Faith was born was a world devoid of moral purity. There was no standard available with which Paul could compare how we should live as a lover of God.

What filled Paul’s mind and heart was the only answer – “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do…” Rest assured, that command fell on similar ears as it falls on today. Dr. William Barclay sheds light on this subject when he writes: “In the ancient world there was a line of thought called Gnosticism. Gnosticism began from the contention that spirit alone is good and that matter is always evil. If that be so, it follows that only spirit is to be valued and that matter must be utterly despised. Now a man is composed of two parts; he is body and spirit. According to this point of view only his spirit matters; his body is of no importance whatsoever. Therefore, some at least of the Gnostics went on to argue, it does not matter what a man does with his body. It will make no difference if he gluts its desires. Bodily and sexual sins were of no importance because they were of the body and not of the spirit.”

It seems we have more “Gnostics” filling the church today than we care to admit. We’re so prone to yield to our bodily urges it’s almost a laughing matter to pretend it’s against the will of God. But Paul says in essence, we shouldn’t even joke about such things when he writes: “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes – these are not for you.” (vs. 3)

In the Greek world sexual immorality was taken so lightly it was not considered sin at all. The great temples in places like Corinth were staffed by hundreds of “sacred” prostitutes (sexual slaves) whose earnings went to the upkeep of the Temple.^[1] The world in which we now live is more like the Greek culture than we care to admit. Sexual promiscuity even among professing believers is hardly considered a sin, at least a sin to be stopped.

That’s why the reasoning Paul discusses in Romans 6: “Do you say that God’s grace is the greatest thing in all the world?” “Yes.” “Do you say that God’s grace is wide enough to cover every sin?” “Yes.” “Then let us go on sinning, for God’s grace can wipe out every sin. In fact the more we sin the more chances God’s grace will get to operate” was met with such a forceful response: “Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?” (vss. 15b-16a)

Dr. Billy Graham speaks, at least in my mind, to one of the biggest issues with which we wrestle in keeping God’s exacting standard when he writes: “Satan doesn’t need for us to fall into gross sin in order to defeat us. A large dose of laziness will do the trick just as well.” Have we gotten so lazy in our standards as a Jesus follower that they no longer matter?

Food for thought

Blessings, Ed

^[1] Barclay, W., ed. (1976). The letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (p. 161). The Westminster John Knox Press.

Living for Christ?

“This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory.” (Colossians 1:26-27 NLT)

May I share a word from the Lord? Living for Christ is not an activity to which the Lord calls us! Yes, you read that correctly. The Lord isn’t nearly as concerned about our living for Him as He is in our allowing Him to live His life in and through us. It’s not OUR life and how we live it that’s the issue; it’s how effectively are we allowing Him to be revealed through us as we live out His life in our daily lives.

Is this simply semantics? Not according to Paul. The assurance of our sharing His glory, His ultimate victory over sin and death, depends on our understanding and living out this very potent truth. The way we know we have life in Christ, according to Paul in Romans 8:16, is that God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed a child of God.

The Spirit in us testifies on our behalf that God lives and reigns in our life. If there’s no Holy Spirit within us, there’s no testimony to give. Our “faith in Christ” is meaningless and worthless unless and until the Holy Spirit is invited to live in and work through us. Then His words are enabled and empowered to not only be heard, but to powerfully move the hearts of our friends and loved ones to invite the Lord who owns us, to live in their heart and life as well.

How do we do that? What’s the “key?” I love how Mark Driscoll sums it up: “The key to a victorious Christian life? Don’t just live for Christ, let Christ live through you!”

Yes, I know, that sounds catchy and great, but how do we do that? How do you breath? Yep, same concept. You breathe air into your lungs, then exhale it out. Like the Karate Kid: “Wax on. Wax off.” “Breathe in. Breathe out.” What’s my point?

As a child of God, we “breathe” the Lord’s Spirit into our life by an act of our will, a decision. We invite the Holy God to take up residence in us and live His life out through us. It’s exciting, energizing, life-renewing when that happens, but make no mistake – it happens at our invitation. Yes, of course, the Holy Spirit convicts, convinces, and draws us to Himself, but He will not overpower our will. What’s my point?

Neither will He force us to allow Him to live His life out through us. It’s a constant decision, almost like breathing. In the beginning it’s all fresh and new, so, we don’t have to “force” anything. A lot of our “commitment” is emotional, so we coast on that a while until one day we wake up and realize: “I must have had a dream, because all the emotion is gone. This ‘Jesus thing’ must be a lie!” When, in reality, it’s like starting a new job, buying a new house, having a baby – it’s just the beginning of a new chapter in our life.

We learn to adapt to challenges and changes, and becoming a child of God is no different. It takes time to learn how to let the Lord live His life out through us, but the key ways to walk that journey effectively are to pray often, literally moment by moment; feast on God’s Word, the Bible. Don’t simply read out of obligation, but as a starving person eating a healthy meal; and by partnering with other God-pursuers who are just as hungry to learn as you.

The key to me is to “breathe” Jesus in with every breath and let Him have outlets for His life in every detail of ours, as naturally as allowing the air in our lungs to escape. Every thought, action, and attitude. Yes, of course, learning to live effectively for Christ takes time, but it’s well worth the effort.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

In the Midst of the Storm

“My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me. Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly away to the quiet of the wilderness. How quickly I would escape – far from this wild storm of hatred.” (Psalm 55: 4-8 NLT)

How often when assaulted by the “storms” of life have we wanted to “fly away and rest?” It’s our instinct to want to avoid trauma, trials, tribulations, yet isn’t it in these very storms that we see our Savior’s face most clearly? Could it be in our haste to avoid pain, we miss opportunities for healing?

David’s words ring loud and clear for those of us in the midst of perilous storms. How often I’d like to wake up from the “nightmare” of the issues I now face and fly to a distant place devoid of pain, heartache, and suffering. But even as I consider those thoughts, it occurs to me that I don’t need to fly anywhere. But why? Because the Lord meets me IN the storm, not away from it or even on the other side.

That’s the beauty of the story of Jesus walking on the water that we looked at a few days ago. In Matthew 14:27 the Bible says: “But Jesus spoke to them at once, ‘Don’t be afraid,’ He said, “Take courage. I am here!’” The storm is raging, their boat is sinking, all hope is lost, but they didn’t realize that Jesus was on the scene. He didn’t tell them He would “fly them away.” He simply said, “Don’t be afraid.” But why? The storm is still raging; the waves are still crashing! Because “I am here!”

In the midst of our storms we don’t need deliverance, we need Jesus. We don’t need to fly away; we need to walk to Him “on the waters” of whatever storm is raging. Help, healing, and wholeness will never be found anywhere but in intimacy with the Master.

Beth Moore addresses this when she writes: “We want Christ to hurry and calm the storm. He wants us to find him in the midst of it first.” How often do we prolong our own pain because we persist in making our own way? We think “I just need a better doctor or a more effective medication!” when what we need is more intimacy with the Savior.

We want things to be better, then we’ll spend more time praying, be more faithful at church, and serve the needs of others. But God’s plan is to “bloom where we’re planted,” in the soil of hardship, pain, and turmoil. We can’t forget the Lord has allowed us to be in this circumstance and He never allows anything except He has purpose. Christine Caine gives us insight when she writes: “Allow God to work and shine through the chaos.”

Where do we get the notion that we should have a trouble-free life? It’s certainly not in the Bible. Jesus clearly said in John 16:33: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Did you catch that: “peace in Me!” Wherever the Lord is there is peace, including in the midst of our storms.

Yes, of course they’re hard, trying, difficult with which to cope, anger-inducing, spirit-challenging, frightening, and a hundred other scary things, but when we choose to focus on those things rather than on Jesus, we lose our peace. HE IS OUR PEACE! He IS our deliverance! He is the One to whom we “fly away” in our heart and mind to escape the traumas of our predicaments. When will we learn to trust Him in the MIDST of our storms, not wait until they’ve passed?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Marriage Bleeders

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11 ESV)

*Please read these powerful words of Janel Breitenstein (Family Life). Her words stimulate my mind and force me to consider her words are coming from the Lord Himself. Please read carefully and thoughtfully. Blessings, Ed 😊

I read last year there were five medical dramas on the big four TV networks alone. Makes sense. Hospitals feel so … dramatic. Everyone rushing around! Everything life or death! Tears and blood all over the place!

Even I, who (true story) nearly fainted from a clearly painted-on black eye in a college play, love the gravitas hovering over a human body. As long as I’m not, y’know, eating a salad or something.

Any veteran watcher of medical dramas will tell the onscreen doctor that, should you find yourself in the middle of surgery, and a pool of (fake) blood begins rising in the (fake) body cavity, you need to find the bleeder, STAT. Or your fake-patient is going to fake-die.

It happened on the drama I was watching last night: The doctor himself actually died from his own internal bleeding. (Shouldn’t he have seen this one coming?)

Then again, when I look at marriage, it seems an environment ripe for internal bleeding. (Metaphorically speaking only, of course.) Real life doesn’t leave us unscathed.

I’m not talking about self-healing injuries in a healthy relationship: the argument where you need to overlook an offense (Proverbs 19:11). The hangnail of irritation—his constant over-talking, her forgetting to unload the dishwasher again.

I’m talking issues that keep causing damage: Her lack of organization in finances or doing what she said she would, which means he can’t trust her. Abuse from a past that she never speaks of. The breach of trust when you first married. The way he treats her stepkids.

Lesson from Medical Drama Land, and very real life: You must locate the bleeders in your marriage and actively address them (tips in today’s further reading).

They’re leaching life from your relationship. And the consequences might be more dire than you’d imagine.

Struggling to face the ongoing conflict in your marriage? Read on for six steps.

THE GOOD STUFF:
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16) ACTION POINTS: What’s one below-the-surface issue, current or past, “internally bleeding” in your relationship? Make a doable plan to actively, tenderly, and firmly address your bleeder. Stick to your plan.
I want these in my inbox daily!

When We Can’t Trust Our Tongue

“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” (James 1:26-27 NLT)

James’ obvious context when he writes of “religion,” is the best version of the Christian Faith. Caring for others, especially those who are struggling to care for themselves is and always has been a key element for those of us who love and follow Jesus.

It’s interesting to me that James speaks of controlling our tongue in that same context when he writes of “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father.” Isn’t that our heart as earnest seekers of the Lord Jesus? To be pure and genuine in our pursuit of our Savior? What does that mean? What might it look like in practical ways?

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Might it mean being quiet when what we’re about to say isn’t uplifting, encouraging, healing, hopeful, or helpful? Perhaps we’re angry because of something that happened in another context, but now we’re home and we’re feeling like we need to “let it out!” And that can be fine if handled in the right way. But when our anger and bitterness ignite our tongue, and like wildfire, burns up all in its path, it’s wrong and dishonors the Lord.

Craig Groeschel speaks to this when he writes: “Never trust your tongue when your heart is bitter.” Much of the heartache over which I agonize is the result of speaking when I should have remained silent; when I’ve said hurtful things in the wrong context, in the wrong way, or in the wrong spirit. And here’s the kicker, if I’m truthful, I wasn’t seeking to hurt anyone, and what I said was the truth as I saw it, but when even truth is spoken in a harsh, thoughtless, angry, or inappropriate way, it can cause far more harm than good.

Controlling our tongue isn’t a simple human endeavor. It requires Holy Spirit intervention and control. A simple technique I learned can save us a lot of heartache if we’ll practice and learn its value. Simply pause before we speak. Lift to the Lord a 10-15 second plea to help us say what is helpful and to not say anything that would be hurtful, but most importantly, anything that would be dishonoring to Him.

If we’ll take a deep breath, turning our thoughts to the Lord, it can make a huge difference in the outcome of our conversation. That same process has also proven helpful at times when I’m beginning a project, beginning an exam, starting out on a trip, and many other circumstances. Getting in the habit of seeking the Lord’s input in every circumstance of our lives will not only prevent us from making a lot of mistakes, it will also deepen our love and appreciation of our Savior and best Friend.

Controlling our tongue is a spiritual exercise that not only protects our relationships but builds our character and enhances our witness for the Lord. Think of the relationships that may have been salvaged if we’d kept quiet in those critical moments.

One additional thought. Sensitivity to a person’s needs, not simply their words is often a key. Sometimes the venom that flows in a conversation with us, that we tend to take too personally, isn’t even about us. If we’ll just be quiet and listen, we can be a soothing balm to a scorched and hurting spirit. When conversations fuel our anger and stir our emotions, those are critical times when we can’t trust our tongue.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

God Warns Us Far In Advance

“Long ago I told you what was going to happen. Then suddenly I took action, and all My predictions came true. For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard as bronze. That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’” (Isaiah 48:3-5 NLT)

The expression “came to pass” is used nearly 500 times in the King James Version of the Bible. Why is that important? If I invite you to a party that will take place on a certain date and time, but you’re busy that day, so you come at a later date and time, what could I say? “Sorry, it came to pass!” In other words, “You’re too late, it’s already happened!”

Do you understand, that’s what will happen when the Lord returns? The birth of the Savior, the Lord Jesus, was prophesied hundreds of years in advance, but when He arrived, the Lord didn’t shout it to the nations, He revealed His birth first to some shepherds in a field. Why not the religious people who should have been watching for it? Because they didn’t believe it even when they were told, and the Lord of heaven knew their hearts were too hard to take it in.

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The huge difference between the Lord’s first coming and His second coming is, He’s not coming back to convince anyone of anything; He’s not coming back to take sides or to choose disciples; He’s coming back to take over! All the warnings will be ended, all the debates as to whether He was really who He claimed to be will be in the past. The Only thing that will matter on that day will be: DID YOU BELIEVE HIS WARNINGS? ARE YOU READY FOR HIS INEVITABLE ARRIVAL?

God is love, but He’s also just. Much of what we see rampant in the world today is blatant sin being carried out in defiance of the loving God of heaven. Human trafficking, including children, for the pleasure of perverted men and women of means, will one day come to a screeching halt. The security they believe they have by hiding their perversions in underground cities will come to light in the justice of a holy God and they will burn in hell forever for their defiance.

But to me, that’s not the greatest tragedy. Billions of seemingly good people who go to work, raise their kids, love their families and go about their daily lives and never hurt a flea, will flood the gates of hell, not because they were blatantly evil, but because they ignored the call of God to repent and believe the clear warnings of a holy God, not believing it applied to them. After all, in their mind they were already “good.”

But what if they’ve never heard? Perhaps the Apostle Paul can clear that up for us. He writes in Romans 1:18ff: “But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

Add to that the millions of people who DO know Him, or at least claim to know Him, but who live like He doesn’t exist. That just leaves a relatively few of us to hold up the standard of the Savior – live it, teach it, preach it every day with our lives and our voices, sharing the holy message that Jesus died to save sinners, of whom we are chief – yet He forgave us, cleansed us, redeemed us, and set us free, and He will set you free as well!

Though in many ways, God has and continues to extend His warnings, we must not stop warning everyone we can for as long as we have breath. It’s our mandate!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed

The Spacious World of God

“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for He judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on His head were many crowns. A name was written on Him that no one understood except Himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and His title was the Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11-13 NLT)

Who is God? Talk about a can of worms! Whew! We’ve been considering that topic for centuries, yet, on some levels, haven’t gotten any closer to truly understanding who He is. How can we understand more about who He is? How can we begin to grasp for ourselves the heights, depths, and widths of His holy existence? Will we ever, even in eternity, fully grasp or even begin to comprehend the full dimensions of who He is? Likely not, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying.

Of course, the most complete revelation of Himself was put on display in and though the life of His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom He has given us full access through His Spirit, if we’ll only ask. But how? Through prayer, conversation with the living God through whom is opened to us a world of opportunity so grand, so beautiful, so breath-taking it’s hard for our mortal minds to take it in.

“A Heavenly Testimony” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

How do you grasp the meaning of all-knowing? All-powerful? Ever-present? All-loving? All-forgiving? The list is too long to exhaust the attributes of our heavenly Father. But rather than frustrate us, it should ignite within us a strong fire of desire to get to know Him, not simply on an intellectual basis, but as our very personal King of kings, and Lord of lords.

But how? Eugene Peterson gives us a clue when he writes: “Prayer is the way we work our way out of the comfortable but cramped world of self and into the spacious world of God.” What might that look like? One way might be to read and sing some of the old hymns. Believing the Lord inspired and prompted their words, might they leave us clues as to who He is and guide us as we pray.

For example, “Come, Thou Almighty King” whose author is unknown, yet their insights into the heart of God are unmistakable: 1 “Come, Thou Almighty King, help us Thy name to sing; help us to praise: Father, all glorious, o’er all victorious, come, and reign over us, Ancient of Days. 2 Come, Thou Incarnate Word, gird on Thy mighty sword, our pray’r attend: come, and Thy people bless, and give Thy Word success: Spirit of holiness, on us descend. 3 Come, Holy Comforter, Thy sacred witness bear in this glad hour: Thou who almighty art, now rule in every heart, and ne’er from us depart, Spirit of pow’r. 4 To Thee, great One in Three, eternal praises be hence, evermore. His sov’reign majesty may we in glory see, and to eternity love and adore!”

Nearly every line is filled with affirmations of who God is or how we can appropriately respond to Him. The grandeur and magnitude of God’s being is unknowable in its fullness, but can capture our heart and mind and expand our understanding in ways that can deepen, not only our knowledge of, but our intimacy with our heavenly Father.

But here’s the deal. We’ll never learn to appreciate who God is and grow in our desire to pursue investigating His vastness until we realize how our small world of self constricts and restricts us. It’s a little bit like looking from an airplane on the smallness of all that lies below. Until we expand our vision of God, we’ll never see ourselves in proper perspective.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Verbalized Faith

“Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, ‘Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.’ After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising Him for His holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; His faithful love endures forever!’” (2 Chronicles 20:20-21 NLT)

What comes to mind when you read the words “verbalized faith.” Witnessing is a word that comes to my mind, but I believe there’s more here. What does our witnessing entail? What are we seeking to reveal in and through our “witnessing?” Our faith? Yes, of course, but how is that faith revealed, demonstrated through our verbalization, our words?

Notice in the verses above that Jehoshaphat’s battle strategy was based on his confidence in God; so much so, he placed a choir in front of his army. Under normal circumstances that would be equivalent to a suicide mission. Who is most likely to be killed first in battle, at least the kind of battle they fought in that time? First come, first “served”…death!

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But if you read further you see that because of the faith in the Lord that King Jehoshaphat displayed by making that courageous decision, not a single person in his army lost their life. Why? Because the Lord put the opposing army into a panic, so much so, they turned on and killed each other.

Think about what happened and what the implications are for you and me. Pastor Rick Warren gives us insight when he writes: “Praise and thanksgiving are verbalized faith. If you thank God after the fact, that’s gratitude. If you thank God before it happens, that’s faith…There is power in expectation.”

What was the king’s expectation? That if he exercised faith, God would intervene! And He did! What’s the lesson? What are you facing in this moment, this season of your life? What is your expectation? What outcome are you anticipating in the battle(s) you’re facing?

What if we verbalized our faith by singing praises and lifting thanksgiving to the Lord? What if rather than: “O God, what am I going to do?” We sang: “Great are you Lord, and greatly to be praised!” Or “Come, Thou Almighty King, Help us Thy name to sing, Help us to praise: Father! All glorious, O’er all victorious, Come and reign over us, Ancient of Days.”

What if rather than focusing on the size of the “army” in front of us we focused on the size of the God who reigns over us and lives within us? Faith isn’t a feeling, it’s a reality with which we live, move, and have our being, it’s an all-powerful Father who knows us best, loves us most, and has our back. He doesn’t back down in the face of overwhelming odds. He simply smiles, gives a command, and the opposing army dismantles themselves in fear and awe of Almighty God!

When God is with us, who can be against us? No one or nothing has power or authority over us except it is given them by our all-knowing, all-loving Father, or by us when we doubt and fear. If God allows it, it’s for our good, not our demise. He will work it for our ultimate blessing and good…if we’ll trust Him! If we’ll exercise our verbalized faith by lifting to Him praise, adoration, glory, honor, and thanksgiving in the beginning, not waiting until He works, then recognizing and thanking Him.

When we wait, we miss a great opportunity for our faith to grow, and our heart of love for God to expand.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Real Is Rare

“The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” (Daniel 2:10-11 NLT)

When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a very disturbing nightmare, he demanded his “wise” men, who, except for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishal, and Azariah, were sorcerers, astrologers, and magicians, to interpret his dream. But the plot thickened because he wanted them to tell him, not only what the dream meant, but what he dreamed, which, as they observed, was humanly impossible.

To make matters worse, the king told them if they didn’t, he would have them torn limb from limb. Not a very promising prospect for anyone. All there adult lives these astrologers, essentially worshipers of the devil, had made their living fooling people into believing things that weren’t true, even the king. But when real men of God were captured and their lives were being threatened along with the others, Daniel and his friends went to the Lord, the only logical thing to do.

What impossible situation do you find yourself in today? Hopeless? Helpless? At the end of yourself? All resources exhausted? Maybe it’s time you called on the One who has all power and all the resources of heaven. And maybe you’re thinking: “Yeh, I’ve tried that, and it didn’t work. I begged God to intervene, to heal my loved one and they still died. To save my marriage and they still left. To heal my loved one and they didn’t get any better.”

May I say with true empathy, I understand. I begged God to save my marriage, but my wife still left. But I begged the same God to heal my 16-year-old son of leukemia and he’s 50 years old today. Why answer one prayer, but not the other? I used to think I’d ask Him when I got to heaven, but the closer I get to Him, the less I need to know. Knowing Him is enough. He’s made it clear He actually answered both prayers…very clearly.

And yes, I realize that doesn’t answer all your questions, but let me just say, sometimes miracles come in small packages. Sometimes we ask for healing and what we get is a remembrance of a blessing shared or an unexplainable smile. Sometimes it’s the squeeze of our hand assuring us they and we are going to be okay. Sometimes a roadblock leads to a better route to our destination.

For the men of God being held captive in Babylon, God intervened in miraculous ways. He gave Daniel full revelation of the king’s dream which resulted in Daniel being given a high position and great material reward. But that wasn’t the greatest miracle.

In Daniel 4:34 the pagan king praises the Lord when he said: “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.” He elaborates even more, but the point is, interpreting dreams is a small thing for God. He knows our every thought whether awake or asleep. The miracle is when a person voluntarily opens their stubborn heart to Him in worship and confession of there sin.

What we don’t very often understand is the miracle for which we pray isn’t always the miracle God wants to give us. Rather than give us answers, He desires to give us the miracle of Himself. He is the answer to our every question. He is the fulfillment of every promise, every longing, every desire.

When we find Him, we’ll find out just how rare real really is.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Life We Seek

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.” (Psalm 16:11 NLT)

While physical existence begins at conception, true life, as it was always meant to be lived, doesn’t begin until we meet our Creator and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Realizing that may sound more like rhetoric than truth, may I assure you, based on my more than 60 years of walking with the Lord, and the testimonies of many others over the years, Jesus IS life in the truest sense of the word.

The testimony of martyr Jim Elliot helps us when he wrote: “I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you Lord Jesus.” Life isn’t measured by the number of times our heart beats, the number of awards on our wall, or the number of trophies on our shelves. It’s measured by our level of commitment to Christ and the degree of effectiveness we’ve had in allowing Him to live His life out through us.

If our goal to is to live conservatively, guarding our health, staying close only to family and dear friends, never risking involvement in the lives of those who may “compromise” us in any way, we may live beyond 100, but we won’t have experienced life. Life is living for Jesus and investing ourselves in His eternal Kingdom.

Kingdom investment requires risk and can cut our life on earth short, as it did for Jim Elliot, but when you compare 29 years on earth with an eternity in heaven, it’s a no-brainer. Yes, of course, there are many wonderful things we can and hopefully do experience on earth, but the greatest pleasure on earth can’t be compared with a single second in heaven with our Savior.

How can I possibly say that? Because the most wonderful, joy-filled, satisfying, stimulating, exciting, emotionally moving moments of my existence on earth are spent with Jesus. There is no earthly pleasure that can compare with moments spent in fellowship with the lover of my soul. No, not even sex!

Physical pleasure in the context of wholesome, God-ordained ways, is good, even great! But hearing God’s voice, sensing His pleasure, knowing your life matters to Him, can’t be measured by any earthly standard. Try to imagine the smile on Jim Elliot’s face and watch his tears of joy when he learns the man who took his life, later knelt at the feet of the King of kings as a result of his wife’s faithful service to his tribe.

Think of Jim and the man who murdered him embracing on the streets of heaven, weeping, jumping up and down, celebrating their Savior Jesus. The world can’t understand that kind of joy and satisfaction in that kind of context. Words can’t describe what God has done, is doing, and will do for one who cares less about their own life than their life in Jesus.

Is that the life you’re seeking? Thinking more of heaven and your investment in God’s Kingdom than your own life on earth? In this season He’s always on my mind. All I want is to be, do, think, say, or write, whatever He lays on my heart. As much as I enjoy my life on earth, and I do, I can’t wait to see my Savior face-to-face.

My sense is I won’t be on my feet long before I’ll be kneeling or likely lying prostrate in worship of my King; my life’s dream coming true at last.

This is the life I seek.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊