Getting an Eternal Perspective on Life part 3

Some final thoughts on forming an eternal perspective on life.  

Our Presuppositions Shape Our Perspective

Life is about God, Jesus is the Center of it ALL!

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. Colossians 1:16

and we were created for Relationship with the Eternal, with God. God has revealed Himself in His Word, which imparts knowledge & wisdom

God’s truths are counter-cultural and we can be expected to be pulled away on a daily basis from following Christ.  It’s not a matter of being counter-cultural just to be counter-cultural, but if we are following Jesus, His ways are often seen as hostile and opposite to the ways of the world.

They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 1 Peter 4:4

Our perspective shapes our priorities in… everything (time, money, relationships, values, etc.)

For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Hebrews 13:14

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:8-10

And finally let me say that our priorities shape our practice.

As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5

Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

Orthodoxy = Right Belief + Orthopraxy = Right Practice

The follower of Jesus has both.

Getting an Eternal Perspective on Life part 2

In forming an Eternal Perspective on Life, there must be a reformation of the mind and how we think and see… this is often referred to as A Biblical Worldview.

Some people have a Material Worldview, where the universe is impersonal and a product of time & chance.  Some of the “isms” that embrace this view are… Secularism, Scientism, Naturalism, Atheism and Humanism to name a few.

Others move towards a Spiritual Worldview, where everything  is spiritual, but not personal like, Monism, Pantheism, Transcendentalism, New Age Movement.

Only Theism  distinguishes between the Creator & creation, and declares that ultimate reality is infinite, intelligent and personal Being.

Now it really comes down to 2 Competing Paradigms (a Paradigm is a way of seeing life, a model, that shapes our perspectives) A Temporal Paradigm or an Eternal paradigm.  The Scriptures are rich in these comparisons.

We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:13-17

The Temporal Paridigm seeks pleasure, the recognition of people, the popularity wealth & status and power… these lead to emptiness, delusion and foolishness.

Looking to God and forming an Eternal Paradigm is knowing God, finding approval of God in Christ Jesus, becoming a servant, having the character of Christ formed that is seen in integrity and humility… this leads to fulfillment, reality and wisdom.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9

So the Question of the day is: Can We Trust God?

In my devotions this morning I came across the following written by AW Tozer, enjoy.

Glorious Contradictions

God has revealed so many glorious contradictions in the lives and conduct of genuine Christian believers that it is small wonder that we are such an amazement to this world.

The Christian is dead and yet he lives forever.

He died to himself and yet he lives in Christ.

The Christian saves his own life by losing it and he is in danger of losing it by trying to save it.

It is strange but true that the Christian is strongest when he is weakest and weakest when he is strongest.

When he gets down on his knees thinking he is weak, he is always strong.

The Christian is in least danger when he is fearful and trusting God and in the most danger when he feels the most self-confident.

He is most sinless when he feels the most sinful and he is the most sinful when he feels the most sinless.

The Christian actually has the most when he is giving away the most; and in all of these ways, the Christian is simply putting into daily practice the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, his Savior and Lord!

Getting an Eternal Perspective on Life part 1

Life is a Journey… but where are we going?

Q: What would you do if you had 1 year to live?

Did you hear the one about a Bible study group was discussing the unforeseen possibility of their sudden death. The leader of the discussion said, ” We will all die some day, and none of us really know when, but if we did we would all do a better job of preparing ourselves for that inevitable event.”

“Everybody shook their heads in agreement with this comment.”

Then the leader said to the group, “What would you do if you knew you

only had 4 weeks of life remaining before your death, and then the Great Judgment Day?”

A gentleman said, ” I would go out into my community and minister the Gospel to those that have not yet accepted the Lord into their lives.”

“Very good!” ,said the group leader, and all the group members agreed, that would be a very good thing to do.

One lady spoke up and said enthusiastically, “I would dedicate all of my remaining time to serving God, my family, my church, and my fellow man with a greater conviction.”

“That”s wonderful!” the group leader commented, and all the group members agreed, that would be a very good thing to do.

But one gentleman in the back finally spoke up loudly and said, “I would go to my mother-in-laws house for the 4 weeks.”

Everyone was puzzled by this answer, and the group leader ask, “Why your mother-in-law’s home?”

“Because that will make it the longest 4 weeks of my life!”

I do love my mother n law, but back to the question… if you had one year to live?

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 34:4-7 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

Isaiah 40:6-8 A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

James 1:11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

 Life is short make your life count with Jesus for ETERNITY!

Loving God, yourself and Others

We need to Love God Completely, ourselves correctly and we should love others compassionately. 

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Loving others, now that’s often the hard part of life.

I had a pastor friend say to me years ago that he would have loved the ministry, if not for the people.  But people are our ministry, and they are either family (brothers and sisters) to love and encourage or they are the lost to love and evangelize.

John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Mark 10:43-45 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

 Now the essence of greatness in following Jesus is to be the servant (not doormat) of all.

John 13:13-15 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

We have all we need in Christ to love and serve others… but will we?

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Philippians 2:3-8 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

Lastly, let me mention that often a huge component of loving others involves forgiveness. 

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 12:19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

As you and I have been forgiven in Christ, so we in turn forgive others.  Is this not a key component in the kingdom of God, to freely give what we have freely received?  Like children we follow Jesus and we learn to share.

Loving Ourselves Correctly

Not only do we need to Love God Completely, but we must Love Ourselves Correctly.  This relates to…
·        The Issue of Identity
·        Who/What Defines You
·        Seeing Ourselves as God Sees Us
·        Who Does God Say I Am?

The identity of the New Life in Jesus Christ is everything… not just for others but for me, for you.  So consider the following passages and meditate on what our Father has done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Jesus Christ… I Am Accepted

·        I am God’s child.  John 1:12
·        I am God’s friend. John 15:15
·        I have been justified. Romans 5:1
·        I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him. 1 Cor. 6:17
·        I have been bought with a price; I belong to God. 1 Cor. 6:19-20       
·        I am a member of Christ’s body. 1 Cor. 12:27
·        I am a saint. Eph. 1:1
·        I have been adopted as God’s child. Eph. 1:5
·        I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit. Eph. 2:18
·        I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. Col. 1:14
·        I am complete in Christ. Col. 2:10

In Jesus Christ… I Am Secure

·        I am free forever from condemnation. Rom. 8:1-2
·        I am assured that all things work together for good. Rom. 8:28
·        I am free from any condemning charges against me. Rom. 8:31-34
·        I cannot be separated from the love of God. Rom. 8:35-39
·        I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God. 2 Cor. 1:21-22
·        I am hidden with Christ in God. Col.3:3
·        I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected. Phil. 1:6
·        I am a citizen of heaven. Phil 3:20
·        I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Tim. 1:7
·        I can find grace and mercy in time of need. Heb. 4:16
·        I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. 1 John 5:18

 In Jesus Christ… I Am Significant

·        I am the salt and light of the earth. Matt. 5:13-14
·        I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life. John 15:1, 5
·        I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. John 15:16
·        I am a personal witness of Christ’s. Acts 1:8
·        I am God’s temple. 1 Cor. 3:16
·        I am a minister of reconciliation for God. 2 Cor. 5:17-21
·        I am God’s co-worker.2 Cor. 6:1
·        I have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. Eph. 2:6
·        I am God’s workmanship. Eph. 2:10
·        I may approach God with freedom and confidence. Eph. 3:12
·        I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:3

Loving God Completely

Recently I taught a course on Spiritual Formation, using Dr. Ken Boa’s Book: Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation

I will be blogging about this for a while.  I think you will find it worth while in following Jesus and maybe even enticed to buying and reading Dr. Boa’s book.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens….what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:1 , 4

God’s Love for us  written by George Herbert. 1593–1632.

LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,

 Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack

From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning

If I lack'd anything.

'A guest,' I answer'd, 'worthy to be here:'

Love said, 'You shall be he.'

'I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,

I cannot look on Thee.'

Love took my hand and smiling did reply,

'Who made the eyes but I?'

'Truth, Lord; but I have marr'd them: let my shame

Go where it doth deserve.'

'And know you not,' says Love, 'Who bore the blame?'

'My dear, then I will serve.'

'You must sit down,' says Love, 'and taste my meat.'

So I did sit and eat.

Loving God Completely

Thanks be to thee, O Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which thou hast won for us,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for us.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly
and follow thee more nearly day by day.

attributed to St Richard of Chichester (1253)

May we know Thee more clearly

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:17-18
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19

Love Thee more Dearly

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Follow more Nearly

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15

The Old Cross and the New Cross part 3

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power. (A. W. Tozer, Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966)

The Old Cross and the New Cross part 2

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner anal jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

The Old Cross and the New Cross part 1

It has been my joy and personal challenge to read the writings of AW Tozer.  As we prepare for the Cross and empty tomb consider this weel the difference between what Tozer calls the Old Cross and the New Cross.

All unannounce and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles.  It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial, the differences fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before. The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey.

It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment,  though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.