Just Passing Through

Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 

Matthew 8:19

Jesus had performed many miracles when the scribe approached Him and said he would follow the Lord wherever He went. It may have seemed glamorous to follow someone of such fame and with so much power. We humans do tend to go after such things. But Jesus made it clear to the man professing devotion that the life he would lead with Jesus would not be easy. Jesus was not at home on earth. He had left His home in Heaven to come here and complete His mission. He would go to the cross and give His life a ransom for many. There is a cost that comes with following Jesus. Once we come to Him and get a taste for Heaven, we are no longer at home here. "The disciple of Jesus Christ, who intends to truly follow Him wherever He goes, can never be at home in this world.  The world is not my home.  We are passing through, on the way, to our true home, for our citizenship is in heaven." -- Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, Jr.

New Year Treasures

"And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem."

Luke 2:36-68

Anna was what we today would call a "Prayer Warrior". She spent over sixty years in the temple, fasting and praying; most likely interceding for others. To a lot of people in today's society, Anna's life in the temple would be considered a waste. But Anna didn't see it that way. ". . .if we look just below the surface, we see that Anna lived fully devoted to God. God commends her life to us. In the Bible, every fact is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Along with Simeon, God chose Anna to bear witness to the infant Jesus as the Messiah. Her life was well spent." -- Pastor Steven J. Cole 

Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)  Anna stored up her treasures in heaven. It's a new year. Where will your treasures be stored in 2012?

Heaven's Throne

 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, 

   to receive glory and honor and power, 

for you created all things, 

   and by your will they were created 

   and have their being.”
Revelation 4:9-11

In Revelation, John gives us a picture of what is happening around God's throne in Heaven. He describes strange "living creatures" who worship the Lord day and night.  At times they give special praise to the Almighty, and during those times the twenty-four elders cast their victor crowns at His feet and join in the praise. They are in the Lord's presence because of His grace and mercy, and He alone is worthy of their adoration. God is the Eternal One, the Great Creator, the Sovereign Ruler, the Sustainer of Life. A day is coming when we who have acknowledged God as our Savior will enter with the elders in this awesome scene. Take joy in that thought today.

Walk By Faith

"Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--

for we walk by faith, not by sight--

we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."

2 Corinthians 5:6-8

The world thinks it strange that we believe in a God we can't see. But God has made Himself known to us through His word. We know He exists because the Bible tells us He does. For each of us there comes a time when we must choose whether we will lay aside our unbelief and live by faith, or remain obstinately skeptical. It truly is a choice. Once we make the choice to believe, we are no longer governed by the temporal things of this life, but rather live in light of eternity. There is so much more, something so much better, to come. As Christians we have the assurance that when our spirit leaves our earthly body we will be present with the Lord. This is a promise God has made to us, and we look forward to that day with confidence and joyful anticipation.

Seeing Clearly

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known." 

1 Corinthians 13:12

In Ancient times, when Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians, mirrors were not as we know them today. The materials used for reflections were likely metal or a type of stone that would have provided an imperfect image to the viewer. So it is with us when we look into the things of God. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit to teach us, and as we yield to Him we come to understand more and more about God. And yet our knowledge is still imperfect. As long as we possess these limited earthly minds, we will understand only a small fraction of what we are taught. But when we enter Heaven and see our Lord face to face, all hindrances will be removed. Then we will fully know God, just as He has fully known us. 

Forever Peace

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

The buck peacefully stood there as I photographed him. Although he was alert and aware of what was going on around him, he was not afraid.  In Rocky Mountain National Park he was safe. This is how those who have received the Lord Jesus as Savior should behave in the midst of worldly struggles; alert and aware of what is going on around them, yet filled with courage. In Christ we have spiritual peace. Any peace the world offers is temporal, but what He offers us is eternal. Through His death, burial and resurrection Jesus overcame Satan and Hell. He has promised us His peace here on earth, and forever peace in Heaven with Him when we die.Tribulation can never touch us there.