Month: April 2016

BEYOND – Day 12

It has been the intention of the Father, since man disobeyed in the Garden of Eden… to redeem all that He had created. The extent of His purpose goes far beyond simply the redemption of our immortal and eternal souls. It extends to the very planet on which we now live (Genesis 3:17)… to the universe in which we now exist.

Everything is impacted (see Colossians 1:20-21).

We sometimes miss that in our preaching and teaching and in our Scripture reading. God intends to bring everything back to Himself in perfect harmony. That was how He intended it to be from before the beginning: “The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.” (1 Peter 1:20)

When mankind fell, creation fell with him. Adam was the intended ruler of everything God had made. Since he was the representative head (Psalm 8:5-8), everything followed him in death, decay and destruction because of his disobedience. (Romans 8:22) The world fell into chaos; death and disease began to rule. Man lost his place of headship and the right to rule over creation.

We forget sometimes how far-reaching the effects of sin can be. All of creation was affected. And when we look at a world that is so broken, so in turmoil between people and nations… we too can easily lose sight of what Eden used to be.

But God never has. In the Bible God has revealed His intent to redeem and restore what was once pristine and perfect; spotless and sinless; back to its original state and see man walk in it as only Adam has done. (Romans 8:18-21)

The schemes of Satan will not stop this… the sin of mankind will not delay this… the brokenness of our lives will not defeat this plan. God has promised. It will happen. He sealed that promise through the blood of His only begotten Son.

One interesting way we see the promise reflected in Scripture is through the presence of the onyx stone. We are shown in Genesis 2, that one of the four rivers flowing out of the Garden of Eden before The Fall of man was the Pishon. It flowed through the land of Havilah where “the gold was good, and onyx was there.” (Genesis 2:12)

The onyx reappears in one of the most vivid pictures of God’s redemption in the Old Testament on the breastplate of the High Priest; a foreshadowing of Christ’s office as our High Priest. On his breastplate were stones that reminded God of His promises to His people Israel. (Exodus 28:9-12) The two onyx stones were on the shoulders of the breast piece; a reminder of the perfection of Eden.

And the last place we encounter this beautiful onyx stone in the Bible is in the book of Revelation where it will be a foundation stone in the wall of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem… forever. (Revelation 21:20) The onyx has been a continual reminder of what man lost… and what God has and will restore.

The New Jerusalem, Heaven come down to earth, will be the final part of God’s plan of redemption in place… forever. In one of the oldest books in the Bible, we read, “And I know that my redeemer lives and will stand on the earth at the last day.” (Job 19:25) And in that place, eternally… the perfection of Eden will be restored and “the dwelling of God will be with man” (Revelation 21:3).


FOR MEMORIZATION: “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things…..” Colossians 1:19-20a

FOR REFLECTION: In Colossians 1:20a listed above, what is the significance of the phrase “all things” rather than the phrase “all people?”

BEYOND – Day 11

But what about purgatory? Some who have been deeply influenced by this teaching of the Catholic church, may be holding on to an image where our soul descends to the lower parts of… (earth?) or Hades… to be in torment until the sin has been destroyed in us. One of the many problems with this theory is it is NOWHERE taught in Scripture. Let me say again, IT IS NOT IN THE BIBLE! God has revealed this NOWHERE. This is the invention of man who still believes that somehow, salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone isn’t redemption enough. Or that we can and must atone for our own sins; merit our own righteousness.

It is a theology that sits well with the flesh since somehow in going to purgatory, we can take credit for accomplishing our own salvation. But it is offensive to everything the Bible teaches about the Gospel. We do not save, purify or in any way cleanse ourselves of sin. Only the blood of Jesus can do that. All we can do is repent… and believe.

Our soul is safe in the hands of our Savior at death. He has promised in His Word that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” If that is so, it would mean that He would actually have to descend into purgatory WITH us so that His Word would be true! How unthinkable. How impossible. How little we think of our Savior’s sacrifice in enduring all of God’s wrath on the cross and drinking the full cup. How wrong this doctrine is that has tormented so many souls in the hour of their own passing.

We need to hook our hope in Heaven. A heavenly outlook, “setting our minds on things above, not on things of the earth” (Colossians 3:2) has a way of drawing us upward in our living. It gives us freedom to know that our eternal life and destination is secure… a wonderful place… a hopeful and enduring land… and to live boldly here and now so that others may join us around God’s throne.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back and take you to be with me that you be also be where I am.” John 14:3

FOR REFLECTION: How can you “hook your hope in Heaven” more securely today? What do you need to focus on through the day that you might be more “heavenly minded?”

BEYOND – Day 10

“So I’ve heard I get a new body when I go to heaven. What about that?” Actually, that’s an excellent question… and one that has been wrestled with since the first letters of the New Testament.

The earliest churches lived fully expecting Jesus to come back at any moment. Literally. So when His return was delayed some of the first Christians who had hoped in Christ, died. They had no idea how to think about that because the idea that death would come before Christ returned had not occurred to them!

And so, they asked Paul. “What’s going to happen to my mother or father; wife or husband; son or friend since we are now preparing them for burial? Will they miss the return of Christ because they have died?”

Since that day, Christians have sought to understand what happens to the believer at death. Do they simply go to “sleep” when they die until Jesus awakens them? That’s the opinion of the Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses today. Does the soul go to Heaven or to purgatory… to paradise or punishment?

Let me begin to answer these with this blog. First, the Bible never teaches that death brings an unconscious existence to the believer. Quite the opposite. The pictures we have show Christians more than alive and worshiping. (see Revelation 4, 5 and 7 for the PRESENT state of believers who have died). Paul’s reference to sleeping is simply a gentle way to refer to what has happened; it looks as though the body has fallen asleep. We follow that practice today in funerals.

And when the thief on the cross repented and responded to Jesus before he died, Jesus did not say to him, “Now get ready for a long nap.” He said, “TODAY we will enter paradise together!” That doesn’t sound like sleeping! That is what the Bible says, “Absent from the body, present with the Lord.”

It’s important that we understand the priority of this process. Upon death, we are immediately transported into the presence of Jesus. However, we do not in that moment receive our final, glorified body. We will receive that when Christ returns with all who have gone before in death. Together we will receive our resurrected body that is made like, but exponentially greater than our earthly one.

Again, think of the resurrection morning: Jesus coming from the tomb; Mary and two disciples on the road to Emmaus walking with Jesus… but not immediately recognizing Him. But then… they did. So there are similarities and dissimilarities. Paul calls it a heavenly body in 1 Corinthians 15. It is not limited to earthly realities and limitations such as time, space and aging. Illness cannot cling to it. Cancer cannot kill it. Walls cannot stop it. Pain cannot hinder it. And yet, Jesus proved to them on the shores of the sea of Galilee that He was not a ghost… His body was real… He could eat… be touched… talk… embraced. Real… forever… alive…

Glorified. “And so shall we ever be with the Lord.”


FOR MEMORIZATION: “And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17

FOR REFLECTION: How does our knowledge of what will happen to our bodies eternally impact how we think about our bodies today?

BEYOND – Day 9

So what happens when we die? How do we understand this “next step” in all of our journey? Do we just “go to sleep” until Jesus comes for us? Do we go through a dark tunnel toward the “light?” When death comes, as it will to us all, just what will happen?

Understand that the believer need never fear death. While some may come into their last days of life on earth with a measure of pain and suffering, the prospect of death for the believer should bring nothing but joy and anticipation… sorrow ends. Pain stops. Tribulation and suffering are over forever. The former things pass away. Life everlasting lies before us. When we die we are “absent from the body and present with the Lord”… instantly (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). And so will we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

These are redeemed souls… faithful men and women who have walked with the Lord and died in this lifetime… grandparents, parents, spouses and friends… who are now in the presence of Christ. We hear their worship and see their joy in places like Revelation 4 and 5. They are “with the Lord” but have not yet received their greatest reward… their eternal, glorified, resurrected bodies. They know nothing but unending, limitless joy in the presence of the King.

But those saints who are now in Heaven are in a state of waiting until all has been completed and they will not be glorified completely until every believer has finished their race. “So does that mean they’re just disembodied ghosts or spirits floating around up there now,” we may wonder? Not at all. It just means that the final state that we will live in for eternity has not yet been accomplished because it will happen for all of us together!

How do we know it hasn’t happened for them yet? Go to the cemetery. If their graves are still there and intact or you know where their ashes are… it hasn’t happened! It will be in that same body you knew and loved that the final state of those who have gone before us will live… as will we… but glorified and perfected.

People in Heaven are not ghosts, not disembodied spirits… and yet even in Heaven what we shall be finally is not yet revealed… even in them. Only in Christ has our final state truly been seen… what we will all one day be. He is the firstfruits. (1 Corinthians 15:23) We are the remainder of the harvest. And we await the final day of glorification when we will be like Him…

… for we will see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)


FOR MEMORIZATION: The Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:16

FOR REFLECTION: Correctly understanding what will happen to us at death will bring us comfort and deliver us from unnecessary fear and dread. The greatest comfort we can know is to know what eternity holds for those who love Christ.

BEYOND – Day 8

We entertain many misunderstandings about Heaven. Some we were taught. Sometimes we allow our thoughts about eternal life to deteriorate into syrupy, sentimentality or unrealistic pictures of angels wings and quiet music.

Some of us allow our thoughts of Heaven to focus on a place “out there” that has no real line of connection to our reality today. Satan delights to deceive us into thinking incorrectly about this promised place that awaits God’s children. I think that’s because he knows if we get it right it will radically change us and how we see the world.

So it serves his purpose to keep us confused if he can: thinking Heaven is just a state of mind; that Heaven is floating around all day on a white cloud… forever; that in the end everybody goes there.

Or that Heaven is just a continuation of earth’s comforts and joy… to the Nth degree. We cannot imagine.

I still remember the impact of seeing the ocean for the first time. I grew up with ponds and rivers and lakes and streams. And as a child I had in my child’s mind come to conclude that crossing the Ohio River was the largest a body of water got.

And then I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and for the first time saw waves taller than me and an expanse of water so vast I could not see the end. My perspective changed that day. Playing in the stream near my house when I returned home was no longer as fun as it used to be.

So will be our first glimpse of glory. The pleasures of earth will pale in comparison to the glory that will be revealed. Comparing earth to Heaven is much more complicated than comparing an ocean of water to a runoff stream in a street-side culvert, but it begins to take us toward the reality that “eye has not seen; ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)


FOR MEMORIZATION: “But our citizenship is in heaven….” Philippians 3:20

FOR REFLECTION: If everyone is not going to Heaven how can I be sure I am going?
Have you ever personally responded to God’s call to salvation? If not, would you today say, “Lord I repent of my sin and turn to Jesus alone for salvation. Come into my life. I receive you and bow to you as my Savior and my Lord. I will follow you and obey you. Thank you for taking my place at the cross. Thank you for making me new today and for the gift of eternal life. Through Jesus my Lord I pray.” Now tell someone you prayed that prayer. Do it today! Heaven awaits.

BEYOND – Day 7

For many people Heaven is more a concept or a state of mind than a real destination. When you know you are leaving on a trip for the islands or a tour of Alaska you plan to arrive at a real place and in a real time.

And yet many never think of Heaven with the intention and planning and anticipation of a trip to Hawaii or a cruise. We don’t dream about it, talk about it or hope for it. And yet that is precisely what we need to do!

Richard Baxter was a pastor who spent every day in pain. Numerous medical problems ranging from a hacking cough to uncontrolled nosebleeds to heart conditions plagued him.

And so, after preaching some sermons on our heavenly home he made a decision. For the rest of his life he would spend half an hour each day meditating on, thinking about and anticipating Heaven.

It changed his life. He credits these periods of meditation for delivering him from death’s door on several occasions. It became the happiest part of his day.

Now I know that giving up time scrolling our computers or phones or channel surfing seems a steep price but I wonder what a period of time each day thinking about Heaven would do to give perspective to us today. When we deliberately and obediently “set our minds on heavenly things not on earthly ones” (Colossians 3:2) the things of this earth find their proper place.

And we find peace.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “For the things which are seen are temporary but the things we cannot see are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

FOR REFLECTION: The old song says “There’s a land that is fairer than day and by faith we can see it afar….” By faith today give time to think about your heavenly home. It may just change your life!

BEYOND – Day 6

Perhaps you have been there as I have… as many have. You show up and either (1) you failed to make a reservation or (2) they lost it. Whichever, you’re locked out. No room. No place to stay. Your family looking at you with eyes of blame. On more than one occasion, I have walked into situations like that. And usually, it’s inconvenient at least and embarrassing at most. Either way, it’s no fun being turned away… especially if you thought your reservation was secured!

And yet, there’s something worse than not being given a hotel room when you need it… and that is to walk into eternity without a secure reservation having been made. There is no coming back from that. There is no begging the clerk to forgive your oversight. You’re just… lost.

It is one of the most precious promises in the Bible to hear Jesus say the familiar words, “Let not your hearts be troubled….” In that promise He tells of a provision that has already been made for those who follow and love Him. He promises, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” A place. In the Biblical context, the “place” He was speaking of would be a room that a bridegroom would build or have built onto his family’s home. When it was completed, he would return to his awaiting bride and the marriage ceremony would begin culminating with him taking her “to his father’s house” where they would live.

In the ensuing years of church history and hymn writing, that place became a “mansion just over the hilltop” where the singer says, “I want a gold one that’s silver lined.” There is really nothing in the Bible that promises such a mansion to the believer. Only a place. A prepared place. In the Father’s house.

Maybe we get this wrong. Maybe it’s not Jesus’ intention at all to talk about the “where” of our dwelling place, but that there will BE a place waiting. As the old Motel 6 ads used to end, “We’ll leave the lights on for ya!” Somebody’s expecting your arrival. There is a place. Maybe if we thought of it in our context today, Jesus was saying, “I’m going to make a reservation for you!”

There’s comfort in that. Our arrival in eternity may surprise us, but no one else… least of all God. There is a place made… a reservation paid for with the blood of the Lamb. It is secured and ready when the time comes for our “place” here on earth to end.  A place awaits.  A prepared place.

And forever, we will be at home with Jesus.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:3

FOR REFLECTION: What is the difference where we live in eternity… as long as Jesus dwells there with us? Think about what will mean the most to you when you first arrive in Heaven and find there is a place waiting there for you.

BEYOND – Day 5

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. Colossians 2:8 NLT

Most of us don’t consider ourselves philosophers. I certainly don’t. It was the most difficult, abstract, abstruse (I learned that word in philosophy 101), and unintelligible classes that I suffered through in seminary.

Some of that was because I had a head that was not yet prepared with the proper openings to understand it. I will also lay some blame at the feet of professors who were more concerned to speak to each other and to the “elite 8” of 97 students who might have understood what in the world they were saying!

But in recent years, I finally got it. Philosophy drives things. It drives how education is done in our culture and how textbooks get written that support it. It drives legislation. It drives our entertainment culture. It determines whether a young man from an underdeveloped village in North Africa will detonate a suicide vest, blowing himself into the presence of “Allah;” or so he believes. You have a philosophy. Your CHILDREN have a philosophy.

Now don’t misunderstand. You don’t have to be smart to be a philosopher. I’ve learned many aren’t. You don’t even have to be literate, much less a connoisseur of fine art.

You just have to be alive. Your philosophy seeps into your thinking, your decision-making capabilities and your very soul from the world around you.

For many people in the 21st century, naturalism is the soup of the day. It is worldwide, one of the most dominant of modern philosophical positions. It says in essence, that nothing is real that you can’t see, touch, or experience with your senses or measure in a scientific process. Imagine we live life in a box and nothing outside the box matters or is real. The material world is all that’s real and all that really matters. This by default eliminates the possibility of miracles, a resurrection or any intervention by “God.”

And this philosophical naturalism has impacted the viewpoint on two ends of an important spectrum: where do we come from (origins) and where are we going (destiny)? We have basically burnt the bridge at both ends and stranded ourselves in the middle… not knowing where we came from or where we are going.

Here’s what I believe: you cannot begin to live life as you should unless you can confidently answer both of those questions. We have given our young people the proposition that life began at random, with a “bang” or an ooze or a random shot of radiation… but not with an intention and purpose set forth by a Creator God.

And we have confused them on where they are going when life is over. There is no afterlife, no eternity… we tell them. Just nothing. And then we wonder why adolescent suicides are the leading cause of death in our young people.

We have not only blocked off the access and exit points but we’ve set the bridge on fire and told them “good luck.”

I realize I run the risk with this column of doing exactly what I said my profs did to me… and fear I have written an “abstruse” article. But it goes to a point: why is it important that we drill into our children and young people the reality that there is an eternal home waiting? And why is it important that we tell them that they came from a loving Father’s purpose and intention when He created them?

Because, not only is life not worth living if we don’t know these things…
…it can’t be lived at all.


FOR MEMORIZATION: “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2

FOR REFLECTION: Think through and become aware of your own understandings of where we came from and where we’re going. Are your thoughts more informed by “earthly philosophies” or by the truth of the Word of God?

BEYOND – Day 4

Through the lens of understanding in Biblical times, informed somewhat by Roman and Greek thought, the idea settled that “heaven” was actually three “layers.” The first layer was the atmosphere around us; the blue sky we can see with our eyes. The second layer was beyond that, which was the home of the stars, constellations and sun and moon.

The third layer however, was unseeable, unknowable and uninhabitable, at least by human beings. It was the place of God’s abode… the home of heaven. We would also add, due to the explorations of modern space technology that the “second” heaven (planets and stars and sun and galaxies) was immeasurable, at least by our instruments.

So when Paul recounts in 2 Corinthians 12, that he had been caught up, either literally or in a vision, he didn’t know which, into the “third heaven,” he was not saying he took a voyage into outer space. He was transported to the throne room of Heaven itself and there was told things he was never to talk about… never to reveal.

But when John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos, was caught up into Heaven in the spirit, he came back with a report that was to be written down and shared with everyone. We call that report The Book of Revelation.

In this “book of revealing,” John saw Heaven’s throne before him with his own eyes. Revelation 4 and 5 describe in great detail the attendants and worshipers around the throne as well as the One in the center of it all… the Lamb who was slain.

From the Bible’s last book, we learn some things about heaven that are important to remember.

First, we learn that “the Lamb is (already and always) on His throne.” We and Heaven itself worship the One who was and is and is to come. He is eternally enthroned and the worship has been ongoing.

Second, since He is on His throne nothing escapes His notice and care… even the tears He will PERSONALLY wipe from our eyes.

Third, as our Lamb and reconciler, our presence in Heaven is insured because His sacrifice has been received and is pleasing to the Father. His place securely on the throne GUARANTEES His followers access to the eternal throne room.

Fourth, there is only ONE on the throne… not three. Sometimes our ideas of God and Trinity get a little confused. There will not be an old man, “The Father” sitting on the throne next to His good looking Son with some strange “holy smoke” (as one child put it) circling around (the Holy Spirit). That is a wrong picture. There is one on the throne… the Lamb who was slain.

He is the centerpiece of Heaven… the honored focus… the Sovereign occupant of who holds salvation in His hand.

He alone is worthy. And it will take eternity to tell Him that!


 

FOR MEMORIZATION: “And they were crying in a loud voice, `Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and glory and honor and praise.” Revelation 5:12

FOR REFLECTION: How have you told the Lamb today that He is the most worthy of all?

 

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