Tag Archives: Romans 8:18

The crowns of heaven

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To be honest, I grew up without much interest in the crowns of heaven. It seemed plenty good to me that God would mercifully provide me with any place in His kingdom. It’s far more than I deserve. But the bible tells us there’s something worth striving for beyond enduring this race. Whether the five crowns awarded in heaven to believers are literal crowns or another form of honor, they are rewards God intends for us to seek and they warrant our attention:

 

The Imperishable Crown (1 Corinthians 9.24-25) goes to those who run their race in a manner to actually win it. Their lives are marked by rigors of discipline and perseverance, not idle comfort. While most toil all their lives for things that become obsolete, break and rust, the imperishable crown goes to those who labor for the prize of heaven that does not decay but instead lasts forever. Pursue the prize that never fades!

 

The Crown of Rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19) goes to those who continue to rejoice in God – all the time. That’s a hard teaching for those in the midst on ongoing suffering. But our greatest rejoicing is not in whether our circumstance is either ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Our rejoicing is in the presence of God and His goodness in and through all things that work together. We rejoice because our Lord sees us where we are. He blesses us with His grace and comfort, His strength and love. The crown of rejoicing speaks to God’s presence in your life now and also when He will wipe away all tears, sorrow, and pain – forever!

 

The Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) is awarded to those who love Jesus and look forward to His return. Jesus says the ones who love Him, obey Him. They pull away from the things of the world and express their faith by loving others in His name. We cannot earn righteousness. We inherit it by humbling ourselves and putting on His righteousness while we endure life’s troubles.

 

The Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:4) goes to those who long for the return of Jesus, who regard God’s glory as greater than life itself. Remember how Stephen was able to see the glory of heaven even as he was being stoned? Paul said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8.18) Do you long for that glory to be fully revealed more than the things of this world?

 

The Crown of Life (Revelation 2:10) is for those endure suffering for the sake of the kingdom. “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” In the biblical sense, ‘life’ is not just eating and breathing; it’s having a right relationship with God, living ‘abundantly’ with Jesus even in trials. “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12) As you experience pain, sorrow, disappointment, and suffering of all kinds, look to Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12.2). The crown of life awaits you.

 

In each case, the crowns go to the faithful who not only endure this life but run as to get the prize worth pursuing. Isn’t that what you really desire?

 

 

Finding strength in weakness

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One ad for the movie, “God Is Not Dead” reads, “I am not Christian because I am strong. I am Christian because I am weak and know I need a Savior.”

 

We like it when we are strong, don’t we? It is exciting to be energetic and full of life, ready and able to take on the demands of life. God’s Word often tells us to be strong and courageous. It’s the stuff of heroes and champions. Life seems good when we are strong.

 

But what about when we are weak? When there is simply not enough strength to carry on, when others have to carry your load, and sometimes carry you? Who says, “Look at the weakling. I want to be like him? Let’s choose her – she’s the weakest?” And while everyone prays for strength at some time or another, who prays for weakness?

 

We all face weak moments – sometimes in the face of temptation, sometimes in the face-off against a formidable foe. Sometimes we are weak in the battle of our mind. Sometimes our body reaches its breaking point, where the storm walls fail to hold back the devastating storm. Face it, any thought that we are the captains of our own destiny or masters of our own fate, are illusions of our mind. But . . .

 

We need not fear our weakness, as painful as it. As humiliating as it feels, our weakness is actually our key to strength. It’s found in the children’s song: “I am weak but HE is strong.” Colossians 1:27 holds the secret to our hope: “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” Paul learned the secret: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. . . I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13

 

We want strength and vitality, but can we be content in weakness? If Christ is really in charge, then yes. We think our goal is success, but really our goal is to be found faithful in the challenge. Weakness, the experience of being at the end of ourselves, is the opportunity for Jesus to reign in us. Our faithfulness is His invitation. Even if weakness is for a lifetime, it is still momentary compared to eternity, and of little consequence compared to the weight of eternal glory.

 

Be strong and courageous…even in weakness.

 

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

 

 

Time for pruning

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It’s almost that time of year, when the temperatures start to warm a little but it is still too early for the grapevines and fruit trees to bud…time for pruning.

I remember when our grapes first started producing. We collected buckets of grapes, and I thought, “Why bother with pruning? This seems to be working well just letting the vines grow.” But the next two seasons produced diminishing amounts of fruit. It seemed the branches didn’t have strength to supply nourishment to all the buds. While seemingly wasteful, pruning actually produces more fruit.

That’s the way it is in our lives too. None of us look forward to pruning away the unproductive aspects of our life. But spiritual pruning is as necessary for us as physical pruning is for the vine branches. We don’t have enough time or energy for every ‘budding’ activity in our lives. Pruning causes us to reflect on our dependence on God, it brings repentance, and reveals again the purpose of our lives, that is to enjoy our abiding in the vine and to produce good fruit. Pruning, as painful as it seems at the time, causes us to live a life of greater purpose and productivity.

We associate pruning with pain, suffering, and the stripping away of pride and focus on ourselves. But the purpose of pruning is to bring about a closer relationship with and dependence on the vine, that which allows us to produce more useful and mature fruit. Jesus, the vine in John 15, reminds us that apart for him, we can do nothing. Matthew 19:6 tells us there are things impossible for men, but that for God all things are possible. Romans 8:18 and 28 promise that the weight of this present suffering cannot be compared to the future glory it will produce; that God will work all things for good for those who love him. We can be thankful for pruning because it produces God’s best for us and those whose lives we impact.

What trials and suffering are you facing in your life? Instead of complaining and fretting over them, consider what positive effect this pruning could have on your life and how you – and others – might actually benefit from this season of drawing closer to God.

Then Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father takes care of the vineyard. He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.” ~ John 15:1,2

Stealing Holy Water

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“I always hated glasses!” she said.

My nurse and I had been discussing things we were vain about and clung to even though we knew in our heart they were foolish things. I shared about my hair and she shared about being severely vision impaired and having to wear “coke bottle” glasses since she was a six year old Catholic school girl. (Shared here with her permission)

“I’d go into chapel and dip my both hands into the Holy water and frantically sprinkle them on my eyes crying, ‘God heal my eyes. God, please heal my eyes.’ I felt like I was stealing Holy water for my own use and later wondered if that is why it wasn’t working.” She smiled at the predicament she had posed realizing it wasn’t the Holy water that was the issue. In her mind, she had convinced herself she was being dishonest in one thing to gain another. Her plea to God sounded like an honest one to me but silently I pondered her thought and wondered in what ways I might have ‘stolen’ from God and then later asked Him to bless me.

She then went on to explain how her mother had Glaucoma and lost vision in one eye. Her mother warned her that she too needed to get Glaucoma tests even though she was a young adult. “Mom, because of my poor vision, I have been having these tests all my life. I too now have Glaucoma but have been on drops for some time.” Then she looked directly at me and said, “If it weren’t for needing those horrible glasses, I might not have been diagnosed and could have lost my vision too.”

We both observed that sometimes sufferings unveil hidden blessings, and that being too quick to always want to pray away sufferings might keep us from receiving a greater blessing from God.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

Update: Tuesday was a great day for me, but being Marcia’s birthday we didn’t post a blog. Instead, I spread the word for staff on all three shifts to wish her a happy birthday. Thuong, Estela, and Adriana all stopped by for visits as well as a another very dear friend. We enjoyed Olive Garden take out and later homemade birthday cake from our middle son, Peter. The staff enjoyed that too. And…I received two units of blood without negative reaction! A good day indeed. We’re trying platelets transfusion again today – my counts are down to 11 (normal is 150-450): no bleeding yet, but general aches all over.