Lent 2022 | Day 26: House

² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.” ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:2-6 ESV

In John’s Gospel, we find Jesus offering words of comfort to his disciples. These words would serve as a reminder to them of Jesus’s mission to prepare a place for them in God’s house. This promise of future rest offered to all disciples is one we do not often take it seriously as we should.

The idea of a house carries with it a particular kind of relationship among those who reside within it. It is often the case that families are the occupants of homes. This particular structure is often viewed as a place of solace and safety. The very notion of being “homesick” reveals how often we associate feelings of belonging to the house that is our home.

While it is not the building itself that provides the feeling that we are describing here, but the people with whom we share that space, the buildings serve as a sort of anchor in our memories and become a sort of “shorthand” for what we mean to describe. It is this relationship between a place and the people who occupy that place that we should consider more often. To forget where we are from is to lose contact with the forces and influences that shaped us in the early years of our lives. Becoming disconnected in this way can rob us of important realities as it relates to our identity.

The promise Jesus made to the disciples is one they would not fully appreciate until after Jesus had returned to the Father. It is difficult to imagine them fully understanding what Jesus was trying to say at that moment. We have evidence of this in Thomas’s question about not knowing the way to where Jesus was going. So Thomas, who was present with Jesus through his earthly ministry had a difficult time understanding what Jesus said. How much more for those of us who are separated from the events by over two millennia?

We can get caught up trying to describe what the many mansions will look like. We can even lose sight of the promise itself by focusing on something Jesus left undisclosed. One of the challenges this passage offers to us is holding on to the promise of Jesus in faithful preparation for our arrival. It would be nice to know more details of what it all meant. It would even make it easier for us to endure the many challenges and obstacles of this life. But it would not change Jesus’s fulfillment one way or the other.

In this season of Lent, I have been reminded over and over to slow down and to be less anxious about what is to come. We do not need to know every detail of the future yet to come. We can rest in the knowledge that God’s goodness will never fail, that Jesus’s faithfulness to accomplish His word will never be hindered, and the Holy Spirit’s power to bring us to that moment can never be challenged.

If we hold on to this hope during this season of Lent I believe we will see with greater clarity the majesty of God’s grace as it was revealed in Jesus’s death on the cross.

The 7 Last Words of Christ | “Paradise”

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

Meditation on the Second Word

The promise of eternal life is not something we have to wait for. At the moment that we put our trust in Jesus, He promises that we have entered into the family of God. Too often we make the terrible mistake of thinking that it is our knowledge of Jesus that will matter. No, dear Friends. It is not whether you remember Jesus in those moments of fear, confusion, or despair. What will matter when we are confronted with our own mortality will be if He remembers us. The only thing that causes Jesus to remember us is faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” and Jesus, when he returns, will about one thing, “…When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Do you want to be remembered? Then place your faith in Jesus today.

Hymn of Thankfulness

“Just as I Am” by Wintley Phipps

Here is a modern take on the hymn.
“Just as I Am (Oh Come)” by MercyMe

Word to the Wise | “My Feet Almost Slipped”, Pt. 5

My Feet Almost Slipped (Psalm 73)

By now, most of you have gotten the picture that the psalmist has painted. Basically, he has stated that believers develop a distorted view of God’s actions in the world EVERY time they lose sight of God. That is, when Christians fall out of fellowship with God, they will inevitably begin to believe the lies of the world. I have a saying that goes like this: “If a Christian does not fellowship with the church, he will eventually fellowship with the world.” This is the blindness that Jesus spoke about. It is a blindness that goes beyond intelligence and information. This darkness in the human soul prevents the person from seeing God’s action on our behalf. The problem is so profound that even when people are immersed in the deepest of spiritual darkness they still have an unquenchable need and desire for God. It is that desire that can awaken a person to God’s activity at any moment they meet the light of God. Some will run from the light, but many will embrace the light of God—the truth of our desperate reality.

This is precisely the psalmist’s point. After describing how a person out of fellowship with God describes the “blessings” of the unbelievers, he makes a 180 degrees turn around. Listen how the psalmist wrote it: “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (Psalm 73:16-17). When I entered into the sanctuary of God, or when my eyes were open by the light of God’s truth I was able to see the darkness in my soul that was keeping blinded and enslaved. He said: “I realized that their lives are empty and meaningless. Their destruction comes quickly.” This is not to say that they will die young. This is to say that compared to eternity, the unbelievers’ present “blessings” are temporary and quickly passing. Their enjoyment will last for a short season (maybe 70 years). But for us, for those who have turned our lives into God’s hands, our present suffering is temporary and our joy will be eternal.

The psalmist is encouraging us to take an eternal approach to how we live. Sure, life is rough some days. But wait a few years and see the glory of God manifested in our lives. Sure, the unbelievers seem to get away with disobedience and rebellion. But wait just a moment and you will see how they are destroyed by their own deception. Sure, I have been tempted by envy as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. But wait just a few years and you will see that their prosperity comes to nothing while we will inherit the streets of gold. Listen to the conclusion of this great psalm: “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory”; and to conclude he said; “But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” (Psalm 24; 28). If we want to have a proper and sober perspective about life, we need to stay “near God” or in fellowship with God.

Learning How to Mourn is Never Easy | “Missing Missing” by R.C. Sproul Jr.

R. C. Sproul Jr., a theologian and apologist in his own right, is the son of R. C. Sproul Sr. (I know that’s just crazy right!). Anyway, late last year his wife passed away. In this post, R. C. Sproul Jr., speaks about the process of mourning. It is moving and difficult to read. You find yourself wondering and imagining how you would feel in those same circumstances. And yet, there is comfort in knowing that Jesus is good and God is most loving to those that serve him.

These sentences serve as an example of what I mean.

She has, rightly, wisely, and through the very love of our Savior, left me. And I feel lost. By His grace, however, I have a path to follow. For His pierced feet leave bloody prints all the way out of the valley, all the way up the mountain. I will follow Him, who promised to be with me, even until the end of the age. [Source]

Ten Questions That May Change Your Life, Pt. 2

These are the other five questions from Donald Whitney’s book. We look at the first five questions in a previous post.

6. Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?

This was one of those questions that did not seem to fit in with the rest of the questions. My first reaction was this, “What does this have to do with my ‘personal’ faith journey?” And, fundamentally, that was part of the problem. When I create a scenario where my faith is all about “me” and my faith is not a part of the greater “we,” (i.e., the church), then I have set myself up to no longer need anybody else. In order to avoid this we have to see the faith as something that we come into rather than as something that belongs to me. I just bought shares in the Kingdom of God. That is not how it works.

“So one of the best tests of whether we belong to Christ is whether we delight in His delight, namely, the people who comprise His church.” (Kindle Location, 754)

This is a wonderful reflection of what is missing in many areas of the church. There are places where members of the same congregation have not spoken to each other in years, maybe even decades. This is not a good witness to the world about the love of God in us, for them. If I do not or cannot delight in the company of the other believers, heaven will not be as blissful as many have imagined. This next statement and question helped me to clearly understand what this idea of delighting in the Bride of Christ meant.

“The truth of Scripture is better expressed by a congregation confessing, ‘We are the bride of Christ,’ than by a solitary Christian saying, ‘I am the bride of Christ.’ Therefore, do you delight in the church, that is, in the gathering of believers, their corporate experiences and labor?” (Kindle Location, 772)

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?

My first reaction was, “No.” I have not participated in spiritual disciplines like I should. The primary reason is that I was unaware that there were a variety that could be practiced. After reading Whitney I have discovered that the spiritual disciplines must move from the category of “could be done” and become “should be done.” There are several statements made by Whitney in this chapter that are worth highlighting.

“Remember also that the spiritual disciplines found in Christian Scripture are sufficient.” (Kindle Location, 876)

“All the Christian spiritual disciplines are important and singularly beneficial. A discipline neglected is a blessing unclaimed.” (Kindle Location, 879)

This final example reveals the goal of the disciples life. To learn and grow and foster a consistent witness and a growing faith. We shouldn’t want to be a flash of fervor followed by nothing.

“Perhaps you are like a Christian woman I know who sometimes wonders if she is still growing spiritually, because the original God-kindled blaze of eternal life that once illuminated the darkness of her life so suddenly, seldom flames up as dramatically as when she was first converted. But what is true for the woodstove is true in this case for the Christian heart as well: just because the beginning of the combustion may briefly be more spectacular than at present doesn’t mean the fire isn’t growing. The initial burst of spiritual flame may be more dazzling, but the heartfire’s greatest effectiveness occurs as it burns into consistency.” (Kindle Location, 861)

8. Do you still grieve over sin?

My first reaction to this was, “I am not even sure people would understand this question.” As I read through the chapter it was just amazing to me how easy it is to become prideful in having received God’s grace. The wonderful words of God’s love are supposed to make us for full of ourselves. We should be moved to become more full of Him. Grieve over my sin changes how I look at everything, or at least it should.

“The closer you get to Christ, the more you will hate sin; for nothing is more unlike Christ than sin. Because Jesus hates sin, the more like Him you grow the more you will grow to hate sin. And the more you hate sin, the more you will grieve whenever you realize that you have embraced that which killed your Savior.” Kindle Location, 956)

Whitney’s clear description of what it means to draw closer to Jesus is important. Sin is darkness. It is everything that God is not and will never be. Therefore, if we are drawing closer to the eternal life of the Son of God the must necessarily be change occurring in our lives. This understanding of drawing close and the quote from Thomas D. Bernard, was also very revealing.

“The closer you come to the light of Christ, the more sins His holy light will expose in you. In the words of nineteenth century Bible scholar Thomas D. Bernard, ‘Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God.'” (Kindle Location, 971)

Finally, I was struck by the unshakable reality that grieving over sin will actually have the opposite effect than what I anticipated. Whitney says that

“Godly sorrow in the growing Christian makes him a thousand times more aware of his pride than his humility.” (Kindle Location, 1013)

9. Are you a quicker forgiver?

As I mentioned in Part 1, these questions are so simple and direct the longer you look at them the more you realize how important the answers are. This question in particular, has that effect. Let the two following passages sink in for a moment.

“Repenters toward God are forgivers toward others. Those who find themselves unable to forgive reveal that they’ve never experienced the transforming forgiveness of God.” (Kindle Location, 1084)

“The one who announces forgiveness where it hasn’t been sought not only discounts the importance of repentance, he also misunderstands the requirement of Scripture. But the one who is not willing to forgive is contradicting the Scripture, and for the moment at least, is putting the reality of his salvation to the test.” (Kindle Location, 1106)

I do not think that Whitney was off the mark here. Not only is our testimony questionable when we fail to forgive, but we should be concerned about where we stand before. When we are unable or unwilling to extend forgiveness to others after we have experienced it for ourselves, something is terribly wrong.

10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?

We have all heard that there are some people who are “So heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” Well, the truth may actually be the opposite. What if we are not heavenly minded enough? What if we have failed to truly consider the wonder and joy of heaven? What if, because we do not appreciate what is to come, we have sold ourselves and those around us short of God’s best?

The twist that Whitney provides here is that the yearning for heaven that all Christian’s should have is at its heart a longer for the completion of God’s work of making us totally holy. When the work of Salvation that Jesus ratified on the cross is completed, we will be able to enjoy God’s company forever. But, only a holy people can enjoy that. That is why a yearning for heaven is a desire to holy. This was last statement is just a striking truth.

“Jonathan Edwards put it this way: “But neither a … longing to be in Heaven, nor longing to die, are in any measure so distinguishing marks of true saints, as longing after a more holy heart.”‘” (Kindle Location, 1198)

“Paul wrote like a man who had not only tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), but like one who has found the holiness of the Lord eternally and irresistibly addictive.” (Kindle Location, 1229)

The single best sermon I have EVER heard on what heaven will be like was given by Dr. Sam Storms in 2003 at the Desiring God National Conference. It was called “Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven”. You can listen online or download the video here.

Conclusion

These ten question have the potential to provide a major course correction in your faith journey. But, they could also end up doing nothing to take you deeper into God’s plan and purposes for your life. The choice is yours.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 7) | “Father, into your hands…”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Seventh Word

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. ⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. (Luke 23:44-49)

Meditation on the Seventh Word

Death, the final enemy, no longer has the power to terrorize or torment us. The only power death has over us is the power we give it. Those who have placed their trust in Christ can follow His lead into the presence of God. These are words of comfort; words of peace; words of instruction. The journey that Jesus has traveled has been long and, at times, difficult. But we see here in the final moments that the reward is worth the cost. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Jesus is dead. The hope of Glory seems to have been lost. We are left now with the heavy charge to contemplate these things.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 2) | “Today you will be with Me…”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Second Word

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

Meditation on the Second Word

The promise of eternal life is not something we have to wait for. At the moment that we put our trust in Jesus, He promises that we have entered into the family of God. Too often we make the terrible mistake of thinking that it is our knowledge of Jesus that will matter. No, dear friends. It is not whether you remember Jesus in those moments of fear, confusion or despair. What will matter when we are confronted with our own mortality will be if He remembers you. The only thing that causes Jesus to remember us is faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6) and when Jesus returns Luke tells us that there will be a question asked. It is this, “…When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). Do you want to be remembered? Than place your faith in Jesus.

Carrie Underwood | “Temporary Home”

I have always found music to be such an interesting medium for communication. In the span of 3 to 4 minutes so much can be said. The combination of words and images, the symbols, comparisons and illusions all helping to tell a story. Then you add the musical component and you have something that will bring together the mind and the heart, sometimes in ways that can’t be explained.

I recently came across this song by Carrie Underwood that speaks to the temporary nature of life on this globe. One of the realities of life is that there will be times when we think we have it all figured out. We put off the wonder of living for the hope of life. We must never forget the unchanging truth that there will come a day of reckoning. We will be confronted with our own mortality. The sooner we face this truth the more likely we will be to make the necessary changes to look not just death, but also ourselves in the face and find that living happens right now. Life is not something that waits. It flows like raging rivers past us. Yes, there are moments to get to the banks and enjoy the sun, but don’t tarry too long or you will find time spent doing things that satisfy for a moment rather than sustain us during our entire lives, especially the difficult times.

Chorus:
“This is my temporary Home
It’s not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I’m passin’ through
This was just a stop,on the way to where I’m going
I’m not afraid because I know this was
My temporary home.”

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven

Have you ever wondered what Heaven would be like? I know I have. It is so hard to describe a place no one has ever been to. I have often wondered what we would do in Heaven? Will I get bored? Will I spend all of my time singing to God? That is great, and God is worthy of it, but that seems less interesting than the time I have now, here on Earth with my family and with my friends. I don’t mean to for this to sound like Heaven will be a great let down because it won’t be. But how can I have joy about a place I will never experience or can clearly understand until I get there?

I came across this sermon by Dr. Sam Storms. He is the pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, OK. He is also the founder of Enjoying God Ministries which exists “To Proclaim the Power of Truth and the Truth about Power.” Enjoying God provides Biblical Studies, Theological Studies, Historical Studies and even Recommends books, sites and other personal reflections for reading. It is a useful site.

The following sermon was given during the Desiring God National Conference in 2003. It takes a look at how Jonathan Edwards understood Heaven. This is probably the best (to date) exposition and explanation of what Heaven will be like and possibly is like. Dr. Storms argumentation and presentation is quite passionate and has made looking toward Heaven something wonderful.

You can download the audio, but I would recommend watching the video. It’s about an hour-long and will be worth every minute. The first one-third of the sermon is about Jonathan Edwards himself and then Dr. Storms jumps into Edwards understanding of heaven. Hope you enjoy! I did.

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven.