The Eternal Gift

...we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ~II Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

As I closed the book, my mind pondered what I had read. It was a novel, fiction, but I was touched by several ideas contained within those pages. One particular portion impacted me. A main character was talking of his mother's struggle with ALS and his father's care of her.
He said:
       
"My mother's almost completely paralyzed now. She can no longer speak or write. The only thing she can move is the forefinger of her right hand. At night she taps her finger against the bedpost when she hurts. My father wakes up and gives her her pain medicine. He hasn't slept through the night for years...He's given up everything for what he loves most. Her.
       
...I asked him how he did it, how he could give up so much for her. What he said taught me more about God and Jesus than a thousand sermons ever could...He said love is stronger than pain." (1)

"Love is stronger than pain." (1) There are layers and layers of meaning held within such an idea, such a truth. I'm sure I have barely scratched the surface in my understanding of these powerful words -- but one thing I can say for certain: When Jesus gave His life for the sins of humanity, He did so completely comprehending the beautiful supremacy of love over pain.

Because of His love for God, because of His love for us, Christ took upon Himself the pain of sin and the brief separation from His Father that such sin ensued. He had never known separation from His Father, but He was willing to go to that point of pain and lack that we might know sweet union and precious communion with God.

With Christ's death, the sting of death was removed, the potency of pain was neutralized; for all who believe on Him, death has been swallowed up in victory. (I Corinthians 15:54)

Christ's love took Him to the deepest, greatest pain - separation from His Father. But His death ensured that such separation would never again be necessary, not only for Him, but for all who believe on Him. Once we are in Christ, nothing can separate us from God's love.

Because of Christ's great love for us, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God... (Romans 8:38-39)

When Christ was born of a virgin, when God became man to dwell among men, this is the gift that He came to give. This is the true Gift of Christmas: birth that provided a sacrifice, death that enabled union, separation that eliminated separation.

In light of such a Gift, the suffering and pain of this life is put into perspective. Oh yes, I see why we are encouraged to not lose heart. Outwardly we are wasting away, but because of Christ's love, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Our troubles truly are light and momentary in comparison to what we have been given and what this Gift is producing for us, in us. The struggles, losses, disappointments and frustrations of this life are temporary, but the Great Unseen -- what we can never be separated from -- is Eternal. (II Corinthians 4:16-18)

Shepherds, told of Jesus' birth by an angel, rushed to glimpse the God-babe. (Luke 2:8-20) 
A star in the east compelled the Magi to come and see the God-child. (Matthew 2:1-12) 
As they looked into the face of the Eternal, time and space clashed -- their eyes saw past the temporal, and they worshiped.  They worshiped the Eternal.

What will we do with this Gift we have been given? Will we allow the eyes of our heart to see the wonders of the Eternal or will we hold to visions of the temporary? Will we worship the One who gave everything for what He loved most? He beckons us to follow His example and depend on His provision that we may see past the pain of this life.

Every day that we focus on the Eternal, every minute that we live for the Unseen, we celebrate the true Gift of Christmas -- and the Gift that can never be stolen, broken or destroyed, the Eternal Gift, reigns supreme in our hearts.

This Christmas -- and every day -- may our hearts and minds be captured with the Eternal,



(1) Evans, Richard Paul, The Sunflower.

Therefore Go

...All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ~Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

All too often the "therefores" of the Bible are overlooked. In Matthew 28:19, there is a very powerful "therefore". In fact, this "therefore" is pivotal. It was pivotal for the eleven disciples to whom Jesus spoke these words and today, it is just as powerfully pivotal.

At the time these words were spoken, the hearts of the eleven had experienced devastation after devastation. Their Teacher and Friend, the Messiah, Jesus, had been captured, mocked and beaten, crucified and buried. Now, His tomb was empty. Some said they had seen Him, that He had risen from the dead. The two Marys told of seeing Jesus. They relayed His message to the disciples: "Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me". (Matthew 28:10)

So the eleven went to Galilee. Matthew 28:17 tells us, When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.   Jesus knew their hearts. He knew what they had witnessed, that they had experienced devastation after devastation. He knew their doubts. Soon, He would be going back to sit at the right hand of His Father, but right now He wanted to encourage them with His presence.

His presence proved the truth of His words. His life was His Word. By His very life, He was showing them His power, His authority over death. For He had died -- He was crucified -- and yet He was alive. Death had no hold on Him.

By His very presence, He showed them His all-encompassing authority. Then He told them: "All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me." In that moment, He wanted them to be impacted by two things: the encouragement of His presence and the limitlessness of His authority. After showing His authority and voicing His authority, He gives them the commission to Go: Go to every nation and tell them what I told you. Go and teach others about Me.

But in between the voicing of His authority and the giving of His commission enters that very powerful and pivotal "therefore". "All authority in heaven and earth is given to me. Therefore go..." Because of my authority, Go. Because I have limitless power, Go. You see, He was not sending them empty or impotent, He was sending them in His power. He was not telling them to Go for Him, He was telling them He would Go through them.

As a reminder of the encouragement of His presence and the limitlessness of His authority, He says: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.". These words were a double reminder, for before His crucifixion He had promised them that in His physical absence His Spirit would come and live with them and be in them. (John 14:15-18, John 15:26, John 16:7-8,12-15)

It was very important for the disciples to grasp the limitlessness of Jesus' authority, for that very authority would live within them and would provide everything needed to accomplish all that had been commanded. If they were to "Go" without that authority, they would fail.

Before Jesus ascended to His Father, He expressed the crucial need for the commission to be worked out in His authority. He told his disciples, "I am going to send you what my Father promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49) Jesus wanted them to do nothing apart from Him, just as He had done nothing apart from His Father. (John 14:9-11) In His physical absence, the disciples needed to wait for the Father to send them His Spirit, then the commission could be carried out as intended.

As I mentioned earlier, the power of that "therefore" was not just for the eleven. It is for every follower of Christ. We, too, have been given the commission to Go, but our commission must be coupled with the authority of Christ. Without such authority, the commission is worthless.

When we believed on Christ as our Savior, we were given the Spirit, but the Spirit does not make us walk in His authority. Walking in the Spirit's authority is something we must choose to do every moment of every day. It is something that can only take place through faith. By choosing to believe Christ's authority in this moment and every moment that follows, the product of the commission is solidified. Do I have limitless confidence in the limitless authority of Christ?

He is the Answer to His Commission, therefore, encouraged in His presence, confidently equipped by His limitless authority, Go.

Fighting With Unholy Weapons

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore get rid of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. ~James 1:19-21 (NIV)

Several months ago, I had an unholy fight with the love of my life.  What made it unholy?  My weapon of choice: anger.  Isn't there a righteous indignation?  Absolutely.  But I was not expressing it.  I was raging from hurt feelings, longing for time and an evaluation of priorities; all my expectations were flowing from a heart that felt jilted.

Was my desire for wholeness, for a meeting of the minds?  Yes, but I was going after this conclusion in a tainted way.  I had let my hurts pile up and fuel anger.  I thought I was bringing these hurts before the Lord but had not left them there.  I kept bringing them out, stroking them, feeding them with thoughts of discontent.  All this stroking admiration led to a big blow up.

My fight was launched in hurt and anger.  When I chose to march with such weapons, I was marching to the drum of the Deceiver.  I had the opportunity to leave my hurts at Jesus' feet and march with the Redeemer, but I made the wrong choice.

Thankfully, the Spirit touched my heart and I saw the unholiness of my weapons.  I stopped, asked for forgiveness and the Redeemer stepped in.  He brought the right weapons, holy weapons: love, patience, forgiveness, mercy, peace...in that instant, the atmosphere changed.  The real need came to Light and discussion was possible.

My unholy weapons were leading toward a path of destruction -- Oh, the damage those weapons could have done!  How thankful I am for the Spirit's whisper, that He helped me listen!  How thankful I am for holy weapons!

Didn't I want unity and restoration?  Very much.  But this was impossible with the weapons I was wielding.  What deception -- to think my unholy weapons could bring about holy resolution.

The Lord is teaching me to stop, look up and wait before I respond -- to wait for Him to choose the weapon that is right for whatever I encounter.  All too often, I bound forward in my pride, packing unholy weapons, when He is simply asking me to wait, humbly realize I do not know the weapon to use and look to Him -- where the correct weapon is already waiting and ready -- a holy weapon.

Christ in me, those holy weapons are always at my disposal, but I have to stop and look to Him, asking His Spirit to choose instead of my flesh.  Looking up releases the license to carry a holy weapon that has the power of life.




Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. ~James 3:18 (NIV)

A Master Treasure Hunter

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ... Philippians 3:7-8 (NASB)

I love watching Antiques Roadshow. To me, it is exciting to see what people find at garage sales and flea markets. I laugh with them as they find out that their $2.00 find is actually worth $2,000. They found treasure! In one way or another, all of us are treasure hunters. It is a thrill to pay next to nothing for an item that is really worth something. But sometimes the thrill of treasure hunting taints our outlook. When we find that we can get something for almost nothing, we begin to think that greater effort or investment should bring a higher margin of reward. Pretty soon, we begin to apply this outlook to every part of our lives, even our service to Christ. We tithe - we expect God to increase what we have. We sacrifice our time - we feel that God should reward us for our sacrifice. We expect our service to reap dividends of blessing and for the most part, the blessings being sought are material and physical.

In Job 8:5, in the midst of Job's intense suffering, Bildad said these words to him: "...if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, if you are pure and live with complete integrity, he will rise up and restore your happy home."(NLT) Bildad felt that if Job was really serving God and doing what He desired then Job would not know his current suffering. In his own way, Bildad was a treasure hunter. He expected godly living to reap material benefit. How much do our expectations line up with a Bildad-view of blessing? In some ways, do we want the material and physical reward so that others will see it and say that our life is blessed? Or, do we just think that we deserve material and physical reward? Is material reward the only thing that makes service to Christ worth it?

If our focus is on external benefit -- in suffering: release, in sacrifice: reward, in ministry: praise -- then our service is to ourselves. Such a description does not define a bond-servant or true friend of Christ.

Philippians 3:7-8 shows us that Paul did not agree with Bildad's outlook. Paul had known the deepest of suffering and yet he did not see this suffering as a lack of blessing. On the contrary, he saw the suffering itself as blessing. Why? Because he entrusted his entire life to God. He knew that anything that God allowed in his life was to bring about the greatest of treasure: deeper relationship with Christ which would enable him to be made into the image of Christ. Yes, Paul was a treasure hunter, but his treasure was not financial gain, physical blessing or release from suffering, Paul's treasure was Jesus Christ -- his greatest pursuit was to know Christ more.

External reward will deteriorate, but true friendship with Christ is an eternal treasure which will never depreciate. Paul, like any good treasure hunter, knew that consistent appreciation is the most coveted characteristic in treasure. Actually, Paul was not just a good treasure hunter, he was a Master treasure hunter. He sought the lasting treasure of his Master, Jesus Christ.

~Lord, you know I love a good bargain. I want to be a good steward of all that you have given me, but I do not want to look for external treasures at the expense of eternal treasures. May lasting treasure be the focus of my life. I want to be a Master treasure hunter. In Jesus' Name, Amen~

Thirst-Provoking Provision

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. ~Psalm 42:1-2a

The Lord has begun to widen my imaginations. The inception of this widening was sparked as I pondered on Matthew 6:33 and all the implications involved when considering the truth and precision of God's daily provision. I began to think about the days when I feel so wiped out, when my energy is truly depleted: in the past, I have just accepted these days. A true level of contentment has been mine because I trust God's goodness and I believe that He would not bring a time of pain or struggle unless there was purpose, a goodness that would blossom from such pain or struggle.

Yet, somewhere in my mind, I think I still considered these days of depleted energy to be days that contained a lack of something that was needed. I understand that God is always going to provide my greatest need and I believe that He is my greatest need...I want the provision of Him, but somehow my mentality was to still see illness and weakness as lack. Is it possible that illness is part of the provision? Could it be that what this perceived lack will bring about in and through me is exactly what I need, thus making the illness or weakness part of the provision?

I have come to believe that though I can rest in exactly what is provided for each day, there are times when I will not understand what God has provided, times when His provision will not be clearly seen. It is in those times that He wants me to seek Him more, seek to understand the provision, and trust that even when I do not come to a complete understanding of what is provided, I can rest in the knowledge that He is true to His promise and has provided precisely what is needed.

The Lord is rearranging my perspective, showing me that where He reigns supreme there is no lack -- there may be an expected comfort that is not present in my life, but this does not constitute lack. Whatever the Lord provides, this is truly what is needed. True lack is to cease seeking after God.

Oswald Chambers says, "If you ask for things from life instead of from God, you ask amiss, you ask from a desire for self-realization. The more you realize yourself the less you will seek God." Basically Chambers is saying, the one interest that should mark my life is a hard seeking after God. Whatever will cause me to know God more, whatever enhances my desire for Him, this is what I need. That is the essence of Matthew 5:6- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled. Whatever causes me to thirst more for God - be it illness, weakness, struggle, bounty, grace, beauty, love - is part of the blessing and is the grandest form of provision for it will result in sweet satisfaction of the soul.

A Load Off My Mind

Your heavenly Father knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. ~Matthew 6:32b-33~ (NLT)

I am a compiler of lists: to-do lists, grocery lists, lists of needs, lists of dreams -- and to my husband's chagrin, I have also been known to assemble very detailed honey-do lists.

In the last month, my to-do list has been quite long. There have been moments when a glimpse of the list would cause tears to well up in my eyes; the demands seemed to be more than I could wrap my mind around. Overwhelmed, wondering if my body would physically hold up under these growing demands, I poured out my burden and concern to the Lord. He first quieted my heart, and then He encouraged me with the truth of Matthew 6:33: Seek Me first and all that you need from day to day will be provided.

As my heart undividedly focuses on the Lord and His desires, not only will He provide the food and clothes needed for each day, He will also provide the strength and wisdom needed for each day. Though He will use today to prepare me for what will arise tomorrow, He will not provide tomorrow's strength today. Today, He will provide precisely what is needed for this day. He gives exactly what is needed exactly when it is needed. Tomorrow will have new cares and demands. The strength and wisdom needed for tomorrow's cares will be given tomorrow.

Seek Him first and everything needed from day to day will be provided -- this is a promise. I can rest in what is provided for today (knowing that it will be no more and no less than what is needed -- it will be exactly right), and I can rest knowing that, beautifully, tomorrow will also be marked by this same provision.

Even when my lists feel insurmountable, they are never bigger than my God. When my lists do feel insurmountable, I have come to realize that this is either because I am expecting provision that is not necessary for today or I am not surrendering my day, and my list, to the Lord.

When my list is surrendered to the Lord, when I am trusting Him to decide what really needs to be checked off of today's list, then I can rest assured that any and everything that truly needs to be accomplished will be accomplished -- and that is definitely a load off my mind (and heart!).

I Want To See

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God...Luke 18:35-43

I love the persistence of this blind man. I love that he was not silenced by the rebukes of the people. He knew Jesus could heal him...and he wanted to be healed. When Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?". The simple reply was, "Lord, I want to see".

Though his eyes were darkened, this man saw the truth of Jesus that many sighted around Him failed to discern. He called out to the Son of David...the people had referred to Him as Jesus of Nazareth, but the blind man asked the Son of David to have mercy on him. Was he quoting the prophecy of Isaiah and requesting that the Branch of David judge his need with righteousness? (Isaiah 11:1-4) With the words, "Lord, I want to see" was he proclaiming his desire to see the Messiah with his own eyes? How many dimensions of meaning were enveloped in the words, "Lord, I want to see"? I cannot say with certainty, but I do know that this man believed Jesus was the One who caused the blind to see.

The plea of my heart is much like the plea of this visionless man, for my vision is so often blinded by the fleeting and the temporal. The simple request of this man resonates within me because I, too, long to see. I desire for the eyes of my heart to be enlightened. I want to see the unseen.

Like the blind man, I am persistent in my cries to Jesus. With a desire to discern wonderful things from His law, I say to my Lord, "I want to see". I know that Jesus is the One who causes the blind to see. I trust that in His light I will see light. Does not Jesus love the perseverant seeker? Is He not looking to reward hearts that long for Him?

Oh, yes! I believe that as I continue to pore over His Word, its rays of truth will illuminate the edges of the eternal; the temporal will lose distinction, and in high-definition, I will see the lasting beauty of eternity.

Soul-Generosity, Part II

By surrendering to God's truth over our own fear-filled feelings and emotions, our store of seed is increased and the harvest of our righteousness is enlarged. Simply put, the seed of God's Word is fertilized by our belief thus enabling Christ's fruitfulness to explode through our lives.

When we trust and surrender to God, our soul becomes fat and fortified. We are filled with the means to be soul generous. II Corinthians 9:11 says, You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. To be full of His fruit and overflowing in the richness of His ways is what God desires for each of His children.

He will provide the fortitude, patience, perseverance, kindness, love, etc. that is needed for every occasion. As we believe Him, He supplies everything needed for life and godliness! Along with this, since He is the Storehouse of our soul-generosity, we need not be concerned that our resources will be depleted. Our Storehouse cannot be drained of any resource, so as long as our connnection to the Storehouse is free and unhindered, our supply of soul fruit will thrive.

Yet, it is very important to remember that this fruit is not being cultivated within us so that we can hoard it for ourselves. We are graced so that we may grace others. God wants us to give His generosity to others, to grace them with His love....to be generous in our outlook of others, as God is toward us, for the more soul-generosity we give, the more God will harvest His righteousness within us.

As we rest in God's fruit, through belief and surrendered acceptance, His Spirit will then have a smooth, unobstructed path to express Himself through us -- this is truth being expressed through frailty, light flowing out of a tarnished glass.

I know that of myself, I am ungenerous. Generosity does not flow freely from me, but God has an unending flow -- With God as my confidence and strength, I can walk into any situation with open generosity of soul. God is my shield and my refuge, so I do not need to protect myself. If others do not respond generously toward me nevertheless God always will, for it is His very nature to be generous. Any generosity of soul that is realized through me is of Him and unto His glory. As I trust God's generous nature, I will be equipped to give generously on every occasion.

Soul-Generosity, Part I

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.... II Corinthians 9:10-11

God provides in abundant ways. His provision may come in the form of a needed amount of money, it may be that He stretches the monetary and physical resources that He has already provided, or it could mean that He defies all logic by allowing that old vehicle to start up every morning. God loves providing for His children. He has promised to provide our material and physical needs. But the most priceless provision that God promises to His children is provision of the soul. I have come to see that provision of the soul is my greatest need. Because such provision flows directly from my connection to God, it will always be His primary focus in my life.

As II Corinthians 9:10 says, God desires to enlarge the harvest of my righteousness. In other words, He wants my life to be brimming with soul fruit. He does not only want fruit to flow from my life, He wants MUCH fruit to flow from my life. This soul fruit is what Paul describes in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I know this list of soul fruit -- I even desire to be a producer of soul fruit -- but there seems to be a big disconnect between my soul desire and my soul production....perhaps my soul was not equipped with the instructions for fruit-production.....

No, I know this is not the case. I understand that once a soul is in Christ, that soul immediately begins producing fruit, but the amount of soul-fruit production is determined by belief. Unbelief drastically affects soul-fruit production. Do I believe the Provider of this fruit over my own feelings and emotions? Do I want to live His truth more than I want my own way? How many times have I chosen my own way over His and yet still expected Him to empower me? How many times have I chosen selfishness when God wanted to fill me with love and kindness or chosen fearfulness when God wanted to fill me with faithfulness?

When I am choosing my own way, these fruits cannot be harvested in my life. Faith-full-ness cannot be enlarged in me if I am living in fear-full-ness. II Timothy 1:3 says that I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. This is a promise, but in order to receive the bounty of this promise, I must believe this promise. A sound mind filled with love and power is waiting to be realized, not only in my life, but in the life of every Christian.

By grace through faith, such fruits are part of every believer's inheritance in Christ -- will we bend our fear-filled hearts and allow the truth of God to reign supreme in our lives?

Part II will soon follow......