Monthly Archives: April 2015

Mansions in heaven

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We like to think about heaven but we hate to think about hell. That place of eternal torment and punishment is too much for us to grasp. Who can bear the thought of eternal darkness, and yet burning fire, of complete separation from friends and loved ones, and utter separation from God? I wonder sometimes if we forget from WHAT we were saved?! It should burn in our memory every day!

 

I remember when the reality of heaven and hell hit me. I remember the weight of my sin and the punishment I deserved. I remember the depth of my inadequacy to escape it in my own power. Even at a relatively young age I recognized that none of my God-given abilities and talents were sufficient to remove my sin problem. But oh, I wanted to escape the punishment. I remember reading that Jesus not only forgives the sins we confess and removes our punishment but has also gone ahead to prepare a place for us in heaven. Because He says there are many mansions in heaven, we think of ‘our place’ being one of them. Imagine not only avoiding just punishment but given a reward instead! I remember telling Him, that it would be quite enough if I had a little shack by the River of Life. But he would have none of that; a mansion it would be.

 

Have you ever wondered what a heavenly mansion will look like? Since we will have heavenly bodies it seems likely it might not be a brick and mortar building like we imagine. But it will be magnificent. He’s given us temporary earthly bodies to be the home for His Holy Spirit. And even in the frailty of these bodies we can sense some degree of God’s glory within and around us. Imagine having a glorified heavenly body that could serve as a ‘mansion’ for ALL of His glory! If you could take the feeling of any moment of wonder that took your breath away and multiply that a million times, it might be that much goodness. . . enough to fill a mansion – and beyond!

 

Did you know we can experience a piece of that here and now? As we learn to commune with the Holy Spirit throughout the day, He reveals more of God’s glory to us. And the more we exalt God’s goodness and glory, the more His Spirit fills us. The more we grow thankful hearts the more the goodness of the Lord and His ever sufficient grace pours over us. It runs through our pain and sorrow. It’s not a patronizing conciliation. It’s the truth. God’s goodness remains constant in spite of our troubles and our feelings. That piece of heaven, however small it seems, is available for our discovery each day.

 

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

 

 

Heaven!

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CS Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” Randy Alcorn echoes this in his book, Heaven:

“You are made for a person and a place. Jesus is the person, and Heaven is the place.”

 

For the believer in Christ, heaven is “the best to come!”

 

Heaven is a place of hope fulfilled. There will be no disappointment, no tears or sorrows, no pain. No more anger or fear. No abuse and no neglect. No brokenness. No cancer or Alzheimer’s Disease or sickness of any kind! And no more dying!

 

Whatever bugs you today or makes you sad, you won’t experience that in heaven. No more bitterness, anger, resentment, or grudges. No political gridlock and NO MORE WARS! Sarcasm and divisive attacks will be exchanged for encouraging words and actions. (We should learn to do that now!) We’ll trade weakness for strength, sorrow for joy. Relationships will be restored. Broken bodies and minds will be glorified and made whole and perfect. We will be humbled but never humiliated or belittled. Your fight against selfishness and pride will be forever vanquished. You will be FREED from everything that keeps you from being who you were meant to be,  your internal struggles and everything that imprisons you.

 

Think of a place where everything is in perfect harmony filled with the most amazing music you have never heard on earth. Imagine the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen or visited. Heaven will be even more beautiful than that.

 

There will be a great reunion with the champions of faith, the ones we loved, and new friends we never met on earth. I think people will come up and thank you for being faithful, for giving, for encouraging, for promoting unity – not division – and for not being afraid to tell the truth about Jesus. What rejoicing there will be! If you think heaven might be boring, you’re in for a surprise. God describes it as a celebration!

 

And what words could describe meeting Almighty God? Some tell me they’re going to give God a piece of their mind when they meet Him. I think I will be compelled to fall on my face before Him. Whatever doubts and questions you have will be answered completely. Maybe your understanding will be made complete in an instant; maybe it will take an eternity to grasp how deep and wide and high is God’s love! Heaven is filled with God’s glory. It is our singular purpose on earth and will be for all eternity in heaven to proclaim His glory. (How easily we get distracted from our true calling!) And speaking of purpose, I believe the full meaning of God’s purpose in working all things together for good will be revealed. (Romans 8:28)

 

Are you going to heaven? You can know. (Read 1 John 5:10-15.) Doesn’t it make sense to live today with heaven in mind? I hope you find reasons to give thanks today and every day. I hope thinking about heaven deepens your desire to honor God in everything you do. I hope it compels you not to waste your life in frivolity. I hope you learn to rest from always striving to get better and instead, rest in the peace of what He has already accomplished in you when He said, “It is finished!” I hope you decide that being satisfied in God exceeds every other quest you might pursue. We were made for heaven, so I hope you determine to…

Live for heaven’s sake!

 

 

What difference does the resurrection make?

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The day after Easter, it’s worth pondering, “What difference does the resurrection of Jesus have in my life?”

 

Some people, even professing Christians, believe it was just a story. (How in the world can people who call themselves ‘Christian’ still come to such a conclusion?) And for some who do believe, Easter is more of an event than a lifestyle. Church attendance swells on Easter Sunday and then dwindles to normal the week after. We turn the page of the calendar and move on. Of course, we’re thankful that Jesus conquering the grave means His followers also will share in that promise when our bodies die. But is there more?

 

Think on this. What if Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead? What if He remained in the tomb forever? He would be just like all the other ‘good’ teachers, wouldn’t He? We could say, “He was such a good teacher. I want to try to be like Him.” His life would inspire us to higher ideals, but we’d be left on our own to sort out how to accomplish that. Furthermore, if He was just like all the other ‘good’ teachers we’d be tempted to blend all the ‘good’ teachings into our lives: a little Christianity, a little Hindu, a little Buddhism. We’re told it’s ‘extreme’ to believe in “THE way, THE truth, and THE life.” And so it becomes easy to fold Christianity into a part of our life, rather than being our life.

 

But Jesus couldn’t have been just a good teacher. He claimed to be the Son of God. What good teacher would lead His followers to believe a lie if He was a mere man? And what believers would follow a lie to their persecution and tortuous death . . . for centuries to follow? And what difference did the resurrection of their beloved master and Lord make in their lives?

 

Following His death they were huddled in fear, guilt, and depression. Hopelessness and despair defined their days. They must have been asking, “What now? Should we go back to our routine manner of living?” They didn’t have long to ponder this because three days later they had real encounters with their risen Lord. They saw Him with their eyes. They touched Him with their hands. They talked with Him and fellowshipped with Him. And then they came to understand His compelling purpose for their lives.

 

While He walked on earth, Jesus interacted personally with many. After His resurrection He gave His Holy Spirit so that ALL could encounter Him any time, all the time, at the same time, now and forever. Because Jesus conquered the grave, we share in His promise that our death is not final, that true believers also will be resurrected unto eternal life. But amazing as that is, there’s more!

 

Because Jesus rose from the grave, we have hope for today! Because Jesus conquered death, Jesus-in-us can conquer life and all we face. For those who live in His Spirit there is resurrection power, not only in heaven, but for living – today.

 

You’ve heard about the historical Jesus. Maybe you’ve tried to incorporate His teachings into your life. But have you had a personal encounter with the real resurrected Jesus? Ask Him to be Lord of your life and let His resurrection power make a profound difference in your life, not only for eternity but for today.

 

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

 

 

“A grenade in your dream box”

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That was the expression used by my oncologist at my 2 year post transplant evaluation. It was his folksy yet compassionate way of acknowledging the impact this troublesome journey with cancer and reluctant transplant recovery has had on our dream of mission work in Bolivia. The latest medical counsel is “Wait…” at least until my health stabilizes. We had been preparing ourselves for this news when my GVHD recently returned. We’re looking to a new short-term treatment intended to derail what seems to be leading to a repeat of my earlier Failure To Thrive diagnosis. It could be much worse, so we’re thankful.

 

As we left the doctor’s office, this unusual expression lingered in my mind. And I wondered, have you ever had a grenade in your dream box? Something that suddenly, unexpectedly, and explosively disrupted your greatest plans and hopes? Perhaps Joseph felt that way when he was abandoned by his brothers or when he was later falsely accused and thrown in prison. King Saul was constantly throwing a grenade in David’s dream box. Fourteen years separated David’s anointing and actually becoming King. Certainly, the disciples must have been shell-shocked when their Lord’s body was taken down from the cross. We remember the long sessions praying and counseling with friends who lost a child at much too early an age. I recall working in a nursing facility where two women were in agony the same night; one whose body was failing while she pleaded for life and another who pleaded for Jesus to take her home, but her body would not surrender. I remember the gentle old man who visited his wife every single day though Alzheimer’s had quickly robbed her of every memory of him. Some dreams seem to be lost forever.

 

Whether big or small, God cares about your dreams. His unending love and amazing grace doesn’t always make it easy. But He makes it possible, because His compassion and mercies are new – every single morning. We don’t always feel it but His presence is what we need when dreams are broken. Where else would we turn? Will our emotions and logic console us?

 

Sometimes dreams are lost for a season, sometimes for this present life. But the very strong foundation on which our faith is built tells us to hold on to hope, to let it be a secure anchor in the most tumultuous of storms. It’s a place where everything else is weighed on the scale and measured against the value of knowing Jesus and being able to come to Him only by grace, while we wait.

 

Perhaps in that place of waiting out your present storm, you might find you are meant to be part of someone else’s dream, an answer to their prayer, an encouragement to the hurting, a ray of hope to those who have lost their light.

 

If it seems your dream box is shattered, if what you’ve built your life upon comes crashing down, come to Jesus. Come, just as you are. Don’t wait to get patched up. Just come. Honor His name in the storm. And if you can’t do that, come anyway. In the darkness of the night, hold on to your hope. Resurrection morning is coming soon.

 

 

Building community

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Community. It’s the sense of connectedness we feel to other people. Sometimes we feel connected by shared values and beliefs, sometimes by common history, familial ties, or fidelity to a common purpose. In community we seek and offer a sense of belonging and acceptance that speak to our deepest needs. We need community. And yet we live in ways that isolate us.

 

Living in virtual isolation these past two years with a compromised immune system, I value technology that keeps me connected with others. But technology is a poor replacement for human contact. And it seems the more technology advances we have afforded to us, the less face to face contact we actually have with others. In a world where ‘keeping busy’ is valued so highly, there is little time to build community. But don’t you yearn for more? How do you break out of the busyness cycle to make room for community?

 

Perhaps we might first start by looking beyond ourselves. Think of it. How much of what you do has ‘you’ in the center of it? Your work, your hobbies, your relaxation, your worries and problems, your your pleasure and comfort? We even think God’s call on our life is about us making a big difference in the world. It’s not. It’s about God making a difference, one person at a time, as you encounter them. If you change the heart of one person, surely you change the world. While we tend to look for community in our close circle of friends, it seems God is most interested in us building community among ‘the least of these’. The first step to building community is to look beyond ourselves to others God puts in our path.

 

Secondly, we need to take risks. It’s safe to remain isolated or in the comfort of a small group you’ve enjoyed for years. But what about those who have no group, who leave church without being acknowledged, who are absent for weeks and not noticed? People need the Lord, but we need each other too. Who have you reached out to recently that is alone and outside your normal circle? Who have you acknowledged and valued when you had no self-serving reason to do so?

 

Third, it is not just a matter of spending time with people but of living life together. It might be an intensive relationship built through much shared activity. Or it might be in a passing moment. Notice people around you. Whether it be your spouse or child, your employee, or a stranger on the street. Speak value into their life. Notice people who are missing. Look through your contact list to identify people that have missed your presence. Find a way to come along side others. Share a meal. Share your struggles. Share Christ. Listen and show compassion. Speak encouraging words. Seek out practical ways to express God’s grace, His love and hope.

 

Frankly, I struggle with this. Maybe you do too. It was easy at work. It seemed natural to reach out to others my three months in the hospital. Largely homebound, it’s a challenge. It’s not easy to build community, but it’s worth it. It’s the reason we were put here together. We’re committed to try to build community wherever we can. I hope you do too.

 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

 

 

Talking about Jesus

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Claire, Curt and athletes from UPR-Mayaguez talking about God

Claire, Curt and athletes from UPR-Mayaguez talking about God*

What does it look like to tell someone about Jesus?
It could look like this photo of University of Puerto Rico athletes talking about God.

The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:29-31)

 

“My name is Claire and this is Curt, we are from Ohio and we would love to talk to you about God. Would you have some time to talk with us?” This is the approach 25 staff and athletes from Ohio University used last week on 5 campuses. If students say yes, we usually use a tool called soularium. It is a visual tool to help us understand them, build rapport and have a fun time talking about God. Eventually this can lead to talking about Christ and sharing the Gospel.

 

The Ohio athletes initiated with almost 400 people, shared the Gospel with around 80 and we saw 8 make first time decisions for Christ. Cristen and our team get to follow up those contacts. Please pray for Keila, Arnoldo, Luis, Cristina, Genesis, Hermes, Octavio, and Christopher.

 

How do you talk with people about Jesus? It could be the most important conversation you have all week!

 

* Gary and Cristen Schmalz work with Athletes In Action (AIA), a division of Cru (Campus Crusade). Marcia and I have been blessed to be on Gary’s and Cristen’s team for over twenty years and now GLOW supports their efforts to reach college students for Christ in Puerto Rico…and beyond. Thanks to GLOW supporters. Your donations and prayers (!) are making a big difference for the kingdom across the globe!

 

 

Don’t be a fool

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It’s April Fool’s Day, the day of pranksters around the western world. Some think it a great day of jokes that are good medicine for the soul. Others see it as inconsiderate and somewhat nasty and denounce the activities that are after all, based on getting someone to believe a lie. Whatever stance you take on April Fool’s Day, there is a hoax of much greater seriousness that is played out every day of every year: the great lies of the devil.

 

He is described as the master of lies, the prince of deception. His favorite activity is to get people to believe a half-truth that is actually a full lie. Myron Rush, in his leadership book Lord of the Marketplace, said the devil’s greatest lie is to convince us that we have two separate lives: a secular life where we work and play; and a sacred life where we worship and pray. It’s a lie we believe when we consider that our beliefs about God are only a part of our life.  The truth, according to God’s Word is that you and I each have just one life to live on earth. If Jesus is the Lord of that, He is the Lord of all. Believing we have two separate lives sets us up for failure. A heart that believes one thing but acts contrary to that is like a house that is divided against itself. It will always fall.

 

Another lie is that if we are good enough, we will please God and go to heaven. It’s the mantra at many funerals, where we don’t know what to say except, “He was a good person.” The lie is the basis of books and films that tell us angels must do a good deed to earn their wings and dead persons are sent back to earth to ‘get things right’ so they can pass through the pearly gates. The truth told in the bible is that we are saved by grace, not by works, lest anyone should boast. It says, “No one is righteous, not one.” “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Think about it. If we can be good enough to go to heaven, why did Jesus have to die for our sins? Good works are the natural result of maturing faith and they produce greater faith. They aren’t in themselves the path to heaven.

 

A third lie is that once we’ve come to the saving grace of receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, that it’s our work to become better Christians. Yes, we’re urged to discipline ourselves on the path to conforming to the image of God. Paul wasn’t pulling a prank on the church at Galatia when he called them fools for believing that they could become righteous by good works. Works is not faith but faith always works. We become transformed by God by the same saving grace that first saved us.

 

There are so many other lies that invite us to bite into them. Don’t be a Forever Fool. Let the bible be your guide so you don’t fall for the lies of the master deceiver.

 

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)