AND THOSE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN

 (THE INEXPRESSIBLE JOY OF DYING IN CHRIST)

Death is merely stepping through the door between earth-life and God-Life, a change of clothes from flesh to glory, a change of time zones from the finite of three score and ten to timeless forever! When a saint dies, those who are alive and remain may be tempted to “lose hope”, but this is the very time for our hope to be renewed. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy our hope -- he has no real power – because he knows faith is the substance of our hope. We cannot have faith without hope, so our hope must always be in the eternally God and His eternal promises, producing strong faith the enemy can’t touch. Nothing can separate us from God’s love... death just takes us home to our Daddy. To be absent from the body is to be in the presence of our Lord: Inexpressible, glorious joy unknowable in earth-life awaits every saint as we step through deaths door into forever with our Lord . Earth-life is but an obstacle course we run, ever pressing toward the high calling of God-Life – spiritual transformation – while homeward bound from birth. Life is only a nanosecond long if that, it only seems longer because we live in time, but step into eternity and it appears as a heartbeat... just one heartbeat long. And we who are alive and remain... well, we will be together again with our loved ones who have stepped through the door... soon and very soon! So be of good courage and rejoice when a saint goes home, no matter the circumstances... Rejoice! Herein our hope remains strong and our faith is increased.

“PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD

IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS”

Post Script: “A CHANGE OF CLOTHES: “For we who are in this tent (of flesh) groan, being burdened ... earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven ... a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ... that mortality may be swallowed up by life (eternal life).” Saints, if you aren’t groaning for heaven... you should be...

(2 Cor. 5:1-8)

KNOWING GOD’S WILL IS EASY... LIVING IT IS HARD...

Sanctification, holiness, and transformation are, in effect, synonymous terms for the process whereby saints submit to the Lordship of Jesus and commit to the death of their old Self-nature, enabling the release of the Christ-Life within and obedience to God’s word. This life changing process is the primary will of God for His children, the number one thing on His heart for us. Following are the details: 

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification”: “Sanctification” and “holiness” are translated from the same Greek word hagiasmo, which denotes not only a resultant state – separated unto God, but also the holy nature and holy behavior befitting those so consecrated. God has called us into holiness. He has given us His moral commands and wants to release in our hearts the virtues and character of His beloved Son, which will enable our obedience. How we live our life matters... matters a lot! Whoever rejects God’s holiness, His nature and His lifestyle, rejects God.  God’s will is, simply put, our transformation into the nature of His Beloved Son, and behavior befitting that nature – obedience to His word... His commandments. And, we cannot live God’s will apart from God’s will: Transformation is not in our own strength for it is God who is continually effectually at work in us, energizing and creating in us the desire and the power  both to will and to work for His good pleasure... His satisfaction and delight. So... we will never live holy until we are holy – transformation enables and paces obedience.

To live in the will of God is to submit to the Lordship of Jesus in all matters of life, and crucify Self, man’s old unregenerated nature, daily until he is totally dead and gone. The seeds of a new resurrected life are planted within each saint, awaiting release. Only in the transforming power of Lordship coupled with death to Self can the Christ-Life emerge within. “Be Holy for I am holy” is a command birthed in transformation, impossible without it. Saints, we are to “Pursue ... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord ... perfecting holiness in the fear of the God”, bringing holiness to its predestined end whereby we are found “blameless in Holiness ... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” Without holiness... without transformation... without living in God’s will, no one will see God!!! And know this: “The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

“THEREFORE YOU SHALL BE PERFECT...”

(1 Thess. 4:3, 7, 8; 1 Peter 1:16; Heb. 12:14; 2 Cor. 7:1; Phil. 2:13; 1 Thess. 3:13, 1 John 2:17; Matt. 5:48)

LITTLE CHRISTS

Hear the words of C.S. Lewis: “Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always existed and always will exist. Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has — by what I call "good infection." Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.”

God became man for no other purpose then to draw men into Christ... into Himself, to make them little Christs; the whole universe was created for this very purpose. Jesus commanded: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” It is our conformance into the likeness of Christ... our transformation, which is at issue in this command, our spiritual maturation. The “Consuming Fire”, the Love that made the worlds, will never rest... or let us rest, until we are literally perfect, the perfect reflection of our perfect Savior. God’s purpose is not to torment our natural Self but to kill it. No half measures will do, the whole of Self must die to make way for the spiritual nature of Christ to manifest and flourish in us. This is the whole enchilada, the whole essence of Christianity, the foundation on which Kingdom life is built – Christlikeness!

Of the purpose of the Church, Lewis said that it “exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.” “As our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works, and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians” (Martin Luther)

THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF BECOMING A CHRISTIAN

IS SIMPLY NOTHING ELSE

FOR MY DETERMINED PURPOSE IS TO KNOW HIM

FORGETTING WHAT LIES BEHIND...

STRAINING FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD...

I PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL...

But whatever former things I had that might have been gain to me, I have come to consider as one combined loss for Christ’s sake. Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege, the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him -- of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish, refuse, dregs, in order that I may gain Christ... the Anointed One. And that I may actually be found and known as in Him, not having any self-achieved righteousness that can be called my own based on my obedience to the Law’s demands -- ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired. But possessing that genuine righteousness which comes through faith in Christ the Anointed One, the true right standing with God which comes from God by saving faith.

For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers. And that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness, even to His death, in the hope that if possible I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead -- even while in this body.

Not that I have now attained this ideal, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of -- grasp and make my own -- that for which Christ Jesus the Messiah has laid hold of me and made me His own. I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own yet; but one thing I do -- it is my one aspiration: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

(Phil. 3:7-14 Amp.)

I PRESS ON TO LAY HOLD OF

GRASP AND MAKE MY OWN

THAT FOR WHICH CHRIST JESUS THE MESSIAH

HAS LAID HOLD OF ME

AND MADE ME HIS OWN

AND MY HEART SINGS

Merciful Father, there is none that compares to You. Who can take my bitterness, and make something sweet... Only You. You are so beautiful; there is none that compares to You. Who can take my brokenness, and make something new... Only You. You're beautiful to me; You will be my song for all eternity. You're overtaking every part of me; You're beautiful to me...  And I am left in awe of You...

You are God alone, from before time began, You were on Your throne, You are God alone. And right now, in the good times and bad, You are on Your throne, You are God alone. Unchangeable... Unshakable... Unstoppable... That's what You are...

The more I seek You, the more I find You. The more I find You, the more I love You. I want to sit at Your feet, drink from the cup in Your hand. Lay back against You and breath, feel Your heart beat. This love is so deep; it's more than I can stand. I melt in Your peace, it's overwhelming...

I hear the voice, it’s the voice of the One I love, He’s calling my name... I hear You calling me Jesus. He's saying… Come up higher and hear the angels sing, come up higher my beloved. Come up higher and leave this world behind, you are so beautiful to me...

So I am running, running after You, You've become my soul’s delight. I am running, running after You... here with You I find my life. I am running, running after You... here with You I find my life...

So may the eyes of God be on me here, Lord, revive me by Your grace. Holy Spirit be forever near... saturate this place. Let Your glory and honor fall on my face. Holy Father... rest in this place. Let the fire fall... Let the wind blow... Let the glory come down. My heart is overflowing to pour my love out on You... Daddy, You’re beautiful to me...

I AM RUNNING, RUNNING AFTER YOU

IS HEAVEN A PHYSICAL PLACE

We have often heard the only physical things in heaven are the scars on our Lord’s body, but this is actually wrong. In addition to our Lord’s scars we have Christ’s physical resurrected body, which could be seen, felt, and required food. Note also, Enoch and Elijah were both translated to heaven in their physical bodies. And then there is Moses who, with Elijah, appeared physically with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. So where did Moses get his physical, after death, body? Good question! This physical visitation by Moses demonstrates that God, at least sometimes, creates intermediate bodies for dead saints in heaven to inhabit prior to the bodily resurrection of the dead. This opens the more likely possibility that all the saints in heaven have intermediate physical bodies.

When Jesus said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise”, He was using “Paradise” as a synonym for heaven. Paradise is from the Greek paradeisos meaning a “walled park” or “enclosed garden”, and is used in the Septuagint to refer to the Garden of Eden. Paradise does not refer to wild nature, but rather nature under cultivation. God said, “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” The same physical Tree of Life which was in the Garden of Eden and will one day be in the New Jerusalem – the New Heaven -- on the New Earth, is currently in the present (intermediate) heaven. And... We will one day eat its fruit! The “Third Heaven”, the abode of God, which lies beyond the Hemisphere (first heaven) and Firmament (second heaven), is called “The Paradise of God” by the Apostle Paul.

Jesus ascribed physical properties to Heaven and Hell in His account of the rich man and Lazarus – where He refers to heaven as “Abraham’s Bosom” -- including their physical form. To interpret this passage strictly literal suggests thing that are not taught anywhere else, and to interpret it strictly figurative makes it difficult to understand the message... the value of all its details. I do not believe every detail of this passage is literal; rather that Jesus was painting a picture for us. I believe Jesus intended for us to picture people in the afterlife as real humans with physical form, thoughts, and capacities – with identity, memories, and awareness – and to envision Heaven and Hell as real places, all of which is substantiated in other scripture.

We should not assume the numerous scriptural references to physical objects in heaven are figurative language.  That our resurrected Lord now dwells in Heaven is an indisputable fundamental article of the Christian faith. And, He dwells there in the same physical body that He had on earth -- a body that ate and drank, and could be touched and felt – the same body that will one day return to earth: “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” So we know there is physical substance in heaven – Christ is there in physical form – and can assume the numerous other references to physical forms and objects in heaven are literal rather than figurative. The present heaven, though intermediate in the sense it is not the “New Heavens” associated with the “New Earth”, is, none the less, a physical place. When Stephen seen the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, our Lord was standing on something!

AS REAL AS RAIN

(Lk. 23:43; Rev. 2:7; 2 Cor. 12:2, 4; Lk. 16:19-31; Acts 7:54)

NO OTHER GODS

“You shall have no other gods before Me ... For I the Lord your God, am a jealous God”: The word “before” as used here means in precedence of, the condition of being considered more important, superior, preeminent, a priority in order or rank. This passage is addressing a condition of the heart. You shall “have”...  possess, own, or hold, no other gods... small g, in greater love, esteem or importance than Me. Our greatest love, admiration, and respect must be for our Lord, and only our Lord. So... what kind of things can become “other gods” to a saint? Things like spouses, parents, children, grandkids, friends, hobbies, possessions, social position, physical appearance, education, accomplishments, pets, career, etc., and... of course, our Self – the pretender to the throne of our heart. Truth is... we have an endless supply of “gods” to choose from. Anything we esteem, respect, admire, value, regard, Anything we esteem, respect, admire, value, regard, acclaim, appreciate, like, love, prize, recognize, honor,  treasure, favor, or revere in any sense as more or greater than God is an “other god” to us.

There are three attitudes of the heart which must be preeminently fixed on God, our Love... our Fear... and our Reverence. God must have the prominence in our Love: We must love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The “all” here is emphatic, expressing the thought forcibly and clearly, intended to point out the quality of our love. All does not mean some... it means ALL. God must have the prominence in our Fear: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Misplaced fear can turn the speed-bumps of life into idols we fear more than God. Fear of God is essential to faith – residing in true faith -- eliciting total trust in God. Remember, over thirty times scripture commands, “Fear not, For I AM with you.” When we fear God and only God... we “fear not”, recognizing His loving presence overwhelms and puts to flight all other fears. And, God must have the prominence in our Reverence: We must stand in awe and wonder of God, expressing deep abiding respect... and wholehearted adoration. Reverence is the essence of worship, prompting a lifestyle of 24/7 worship. If we possess and express these attitudes of the heart God will be preeminent, for there will be no room for “other gods.”

FOR I AM A JEALOUS GOD

STILLNESS: FACE-TIME WITH GOD

Deep personal relationship with God develops through Stillness, Face-Time spent in His presence while doing nothing that is particularly useful or fruitful to the natural mind. This is not contemplative prayer, mantra chanting, controlled breathing, body contortions, silent concentration or any of the world’s counterfeits to spirituality. It is recognizing the ever-present God is, well… ever-present, and setting aside time to purposefully engage Him. Stillness begins with the willful clearing of our mind of the whine and din of life, submerging our soul into God through worship and scripture meditation, and then settling our thoughts as we relax into His presence. These are Extravagant Acts of Abandonment¹ -- worship that is motivated by unfettered love for God -- desiring only to know Him and be known of Him -- that will appear as a waste of time to the world. Journaling helps to capture His thoughts while keeping our thinking at a minimum, and allows meditation later.  Recognize that man punctuates his speaking with silence, while God punctuates His silence with speaking: Don’t expect a lengthy monologue, but rather short thoughts that expand as you meditate on them. And do ask questions. The undisciplined mind will wander, so… stop and drag it back. It’s OK, Stillness is a spiritual discipline, developed through repetitive use. We must acknowledge and commit to this “waste of time”, with no “to do” lists or agendas, if we truly want to deepen and broaden our relationship with God. Stillness is a habit of choice. (1: Jim Goll, modified)

EXTRAVAGANT ACTS OF ABANDONMENT

LIFE IN THE SHADOWS

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” God has given us the ability to live under His wing - we must recognize that we exist within the safety of His love and grace, and not on our own.  When David penned Psalm 91the secret place under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty was a real place.  David would sit in the Holy of Holies beneath the wings of the cherubim covering the mercy seat of God, the torches’ flames casting shadows of these wings onto him. This is the place where God dwelt in those times.  Saints, we have favor with God: The Father has put us in the one place where we will always be safe, where we will always get our needs met, where our prayers will always be answered and where our hearts can rejoice - In Christ!  This is what Paul means when he says we are accepted “In The Beloved” (Eph. 1:6), Jesus is “The Beloved” (Matt. 3:17; 17:5) and we are “In Him”.  We cannot be In Christ, “In the secret place of the most High” and be unworthy or unwanted.  As we abide... dwell in this secret place of God’s intimacy the Lord becomes our refuge and fortress, and we trust Him.  This “picture” of divine intimacy and protection is the “reality” that God has provided for His children. We must learn to live in this place of rest in the Spirit, for our intimacy with God is our most intimidating weapon against the enemy.  Spiritual warfare is not just about taking authority over the enemy, it’s about discovering the sovereignty, supremacy and majesty of Jesus. It is not about who we are, rather where we are... In Christ... In The Beloved...

UNDER THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS
I WILL FIND MY REST

HOW WE VIEW GOD

God doesn’t need to be explained, He needs to be lauded.  He needs to be proclaimed and worshiped.  He needs people who really know Him and will shout out who He really is, and what He’s really like.  How we perceive our Father, how we think about Him, is the single most important aspect of our spiritual journey; what He is to us and who He wants to be for us.  Our image of God will drive every single part of our life and determine the quality of our “light” to the world.  We’re shaped, emotionally and spiritually, by the image of God we carry in our hearts and minds.  He loves us.  He enjoys us.  He is deeply personal with us, and wants us to be confident in Him and in His love for us.  Ask yourself this question: Do you believe God is mostly sad, mostly mad or mostly glad?  Glad is the correct answer, for our God is a happy God who delights in His children.  He never has delusions about us because He never had any illusions to begin with.  He knows we are dirt, remember He made us.  God says of Himself that He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth (Ex. 34:6).  God not only delights in us, He sings over us, thinks about us constantly, collects our tears in a bottle, holds us in His hand and lights our pathway through this world, just to name a few of the good things God does for us.  But more than all this it is His unsearchable, unfathomable love that should captivate us.  He loves us with a perfect love... an everlasting love... a relentless love... an unquenchable, insatiable, immeasurable, inexhaustible, irrepressible, irrational, unshakable, inescapable, unmovable, constantly constant unchanging love.  His love demonstrated on the cross should forever capture our hearts and make us totally His - love slaves of the most high El Shaddahi. 

THE GOD OF INEXHAUSTIBLE LOVE

DON’T FEAR THE WRECKING BALL

To be in Christ is to submit to the conforming pressure of God’s fingers as the Master Potter molds and shapes each of His children into a unique predetermined vessel of honor, perfected and fit for Kingdom use. Difficulties, what Paul called our momentary light afflictions, are the fingers of God preparing us for the glory of eternity with our Daddy. We are being made ready by the discipline of the present crucified life.

We don’t need “The God kind of faith”, scripture twisting that belittles God, for God neither has nor has need of faith – He is God don’t you know! What we need is simple loving faith that wants God Himself for Himself, trusting He knows best and will complete His perfecting work in us. Listen to the great faith of Job, the blameless one, see his life and hear his words: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

Faith is willing not to have what God is not willing to give, and it does not insist on an explanation. “It is enough to know His promise to give what is good, He knows so much more about “good” than we do” (Elisabeth Elliot). God rarely gives us toys, which “moth and rust destroy”, that pull our time, focus and energy away from Him. He gives us transformation so we can satisfy our earthly desires with His heavenly treasure. 

God is using His wrecking ball called life to destroy the pillars of our independence one by one until we have no choice but to depend on Him. There can be no faith worth its salt until we really believe in, trust in and depend upon Him, not in our chariots but in His faithfulness to never leave or forsake us. Beyond the power-points and song lyrics divine reality is beckoning us with every swing of the wrecking ball.

When “BAD” happens remember: Beyond the unanswerable why is an unfathomable God with an indisputable love, who has never left your side. He not only endured the agony of the cross but foreordained it. Surely when the veil in the temple was torn, somewhere in the great expanse of the Father’s heart a tearing occurred. Only God can bind immaterial wounds. Only God can heal wounds of the heart. Only God!

God is not an uncertain God. He is purposeful and very intentional, constantly confronting our complacency, weak faith, independence and misplaced love. The corrosion of the world and our old nature dims the radiant brilliance of our Lord’s indwelling life. God compels us with difficulties which compel us to Him. There is absolute certainty in His commitment to our transformation into “children of light.”

God loves us to much to leave us the way we are, and He paid too high a price to settle for our complacency. His mission: “You shall be perfect.” The Father’s wooing call is a two-edged sword that meets willingness with love surgery, paring the callus from hardened hearts. Our volition is the key to transformation and establishes its pace.  Constrained by His love, we are conformed by degrees into His inward likeness.

CONFORMED BY THE FINGERS OF GOD