pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: eternal


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Offering the Gift

After His resurrection, Jesus entered heaven.  As the unblemished One, He sits at God’s side.  In that role He “appears for us in God’s presence”.  The crucified Son offers His self-giving love on our behalf to bring us forgiveness of our sins.  His death on the cross was a ‘once-for-all’ sacrifice.

God is holy, pure, truth.  Sin is far from God.  God could not even look upon His own Son on the cross as Jesus bore the sins of the world.  And God is love.  Out of His love for Jesus and for us, the crucified Christ was made the risen Christ.  He passed through death and into eternal life, providing a means for us to do the same.  Through this ultimate act of self-giving, sacrificial love, Jesus opened the gates of heaven wide.

In doing this, however, Jesus did not remove sin from this world.  Sin is a part of our human condition.  It must remain so if we are to be able to choose Jesus.  And choose we must.  Believing cannot be forced.  Faith is an act of our free will.  In order to walk the path that Jesus set as our example, we must have the ability to exercise our will and to daily choose this path.  This is necessary to offer ourselves in sacrificial, other-centered service to others.  If it were forced it would not be sacrificial or self-giving.  Just as with Jesus Christ, there is a cost.  We give of ourselves to serve another.

The gift Jesus gave on the cross and as He entered heaven is a great gift.  This day, may I offer what I can of this gift to all I meet, as Christ lives and shines in me.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 9: 24-28


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Here, But…

It is not always easy to keep an eye on the eternal promises of God.  In the big picture we ‘get it’ – our real eternity rests with God and all the saints.  Yet at times we too get bogged down and lost in the day to day struggles we all face.

Sometimes though, it can feel like a millstone has been tied around our neck.  The uphill battle against a disease or illness, the sudden loss of a job or spouse or friend, another life change you never saw coming…  When it is more that the day to day troubles, which can be hard and very real too, it can be hard to remember God’s eternal promises.

All is not forever lost.  God suddenly pokes into our hard time and we are reminded of His great love.  Maybe it is through a friend or in a time of prayer or study or in a moment of solitude where He makes His presence known.  Like Paul we are reminded that these hardships are just temporary.  God’s plans will far outlive all of these earthly trials. What Christ offered on the cross has an eternal purpose and we are a part of that.

When we spend time daily with God, we experience the promise of being renewed day by day.  When we fix our eyes on the unseen, on our faith, we gain a sense of the eternal. When we remember that our earthly bodies are just temporary and we live for our eternal home built by God, we come to know our true reality.  We are here but not of this world.  Thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 4:16 to 5:1


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Perspective

Perspective is an important thing.  As followers of Christ, we believe He will return one day to bring final judgment.  It could be today, next week, or in two thousand years.  From this perspective we live each day prepared for this to be the day.  In a sense we live with one eye always on heaven and our eternity.

Yet we must also keep today in perspective.  We cannot live detached from this world as we await the next.  Even if our lives in this world, though we may live to be hundred, are just a flash in the spectrum of eternity, each day still matters.  Each person and encounter is an opportunity to be Christ’s light and love.  Each is a chance to affect someone else’s eternity.

In the here and now it is our relationships that matter most.  Our relationship with Jesus Christ takes priority because it does reflect and impact the eternal.  And all of our present relationships are also important as each person is a child of God and has worth.  Each person – from our family members to the person we meet on the sidewalk – matters.

How we choose to live in each moment does impact our eternity.  All the choices, decisions, and actions play a role, as does the lack of action…  As we go through our day today, may our eyes be open, may our hearts be willing, and may our ears be sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture reference: 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31


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Baptism into the Family

As Paul baptizes the twelve men in Ephesus, the Holy spirit comes upon then and they are filled with its presence.  They cannot deny the change that has occurred in themselves.  Outwardly there are signs as well – they begin to speak in tongues and to prophecy.  Much like the first Pentecost, this is a powerful moment.  It is also a great example of the power of the risen Christ.

Baptism remains a powerful experience.  It is s huge moment in each believer’s life and walk of faith.  As we are baptized, we are formally welcomed into the family of God and we are marked by Him.  All of our lives we carry this mark – child of God.  As part of our church family we are also part of the larger family of God, a huge network of believers past, present, and future.  Many will pray for you as needs arise just as we in turn intercede for others.

Baptism is also our first step towards our eternal destination with the risen Christ.  As the Holy Spirit dwells in each of us, the Spirit guides, leads, nudges, convicts, and prompts us to live a life worthy of our calling as a child of God and as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Our new internal compass is always present and active in our lives.  May we tune into the Spirit’s presence in our lives so that we more closely walk with Christ, our hope and our salvation.

Scripture reference: Acts 29: 1-7


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In the Times and Places

The Gospel of John opens so beautifully.  The words evoke past through future.  “In the beginning” takes us all the way back to Genesis and reminds us that Christ was there too.  John also provides the feel of the eternal in his vision of Christ’s glory “at His father’s side”.

Yet this morning the present tense is what resounds within me.  John writes that He came in the flesh and dwelt among us.  As much as we are still present in this world, so too is Jesus.  Christ, the light, came and lived amongst the darkness.  He stepped into the pain, injustice, suffering and brought light, hope, healing, love.  Jesus continues to be present in this world, still full of grace and mercy.  He comes each time a Christian acts on His behalf.

Today’s Upper Room had a touching story about a woman who brushed away a man out collecting for a mission on a rainy day.  She was too busy with her knitting.  But her nine-year-old daughter innocently asked the question that needed asked: “Why? Why did we give nothing?”  The mother had no good answer, only a lifelong reminder from the faith of a child.  Jesus came and loved.  This day may we offer all the love we can in the times and places that He calls us to today.

Scripture reference: John 1: 1-18


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Witness to Our Eternity

God is everlasting.  He always was and always will be.  He was before He created the earth.  God will continue to be long after ‘earth’ is gone and the new heaven is here.  God is the one that binds us together – from Adam and Eve on forward.

While on earth, God is our peace and comfort. our strength and shield, our home.  In Him we live and breathe and have our being.  All of this will continue when our earthly body breathes its last.  God is before, now, and after.

As we live daily, we hold onto this promise.  It makes each day easier to get through and provides our ultimate hope – resurrection from the dead.  Until that day, God is steadfast to us.  His mercies are new every morning and His love never fails.  Surely as that day is coming for all of us, we are to live reflecting the fact that we do not fear death.  We live reflecting the hope and love we find in Christ.  But not all are destined for heaven.  It is our call to be a living witness to our eternity, allowing all the opportunity to come to know Him.  By word, action, and deed, we are to share Christ with all we meet.

Scripture reference: Psalm 90: 1-6 and 13-17