Vacation’s Over but the Journey Continues
Purity 474 07/19/2021 Purity 474 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of a quaint palm tree patio in San Antonio La Paz,
Guatemala comes to us from a friend who just returned from a short-term mission
trip there that ministered to a church in the town as well as another outreach location
in the mountains near Zacapa, which my photos from two years ago identify as
being “in” Jocotan,. A quick peak at Google
maps reveals that, depending on the exact locations, the joint Rock Solid Hudson,
- Lighthouse Church- Athens joint missionary expedition covered two areas in
Guatemala that were 2 to 3 hours away from one another. When our churches go on a mission trip, they
hit the ground running and often divide into separate teams to seek to do the
most good to as many people as possible.
The team of roughly 30 volunteers spent their own money and vacation
time to serve their brothers and sisters in Christ in Guatemala all for the
glory of God and for the expansion of God’s Kingdom. While I wasn’t on this year’s trip I can
testify to the fact that the work is physically and mentally exhausting at
times but the purpose for which we do it, and the fellowship and sense of
community that the mission team experiences with the indigenous people and one
another, is spiritually and personally rewarding.
Today is Monday again, and like my friends who are back home from
Guatemala, I too will have to readjust to going back to the reality of a
regular work week as I spent last week on staycation.
While I didn’t spend my vacation serving the Lord in Guatemala, I am
happy to report that my vacation wasn’t just spent watching TV or doing little
projects around the house. While some would have been bothered by last week’s
rainy weather it was the perfect weather for my purposes. I spent the week preparing lessons for a
Freedom in Christ class that I plan on teaching in the fall. I am ecstatic to report that I finished transcribing
all the lessons from the course material into notes from which I can teach last
night! While some may lament that I
spent all my vacation doing ministry work, I won’t because I was blessed by the
material and the sense of accomplishment I felt at finishing the final lesson
last evening.
I have been on the disciple’s path long enough that I experience more joy
and happiness from pursing the things of God than I do from the interests and
hobbies that I used to have before coming to Christ. There is just so much more value and
enjoyment in pursuing things that will edify my spirit and deepen my
relationship with God than there is in the entertainment that the world has to
offer.
But trust me, you want to take your walk with God at your own pace. When
you get called by the Lord to follow His lead, you need to learn to crawl before
you learn to walk, and you need to walk before you run.
So have grace on yourself as you seek to turn to the ways of God. You
won’t experience the fruit of the Spirit of peace and joy if you strive after
God in your own strength. Our interactions and understanding with the Lord is a
relationship and like all relationships we are going to have to get to know
each other and understand how each of us works before we can live in
harmony.
But hey, just because our relationship with God will require some
stretching of our limits and require some real soul searching, doesn’t mean
that it’s not worth pursuing. The Lord
holds the answers to life and death, and He invites us to explore the mystery
of meaning and purpose of who He is and how we are relate to Him. It’s a never-ending adventure where you can
find your self experiencing the wonders of His love halfway around the world or
right in the confines of your own home.
So keep walking and talking with God. He’ll get you through Monday and every other day of your life. So go at your own pace but set your direction to His way.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Acts 1:11 (NKJV)
11 who also said, "Men of
Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who
was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him
go into heaven."
Today’s verse contains the angelic promise that speaks of
the certainty of the return of Jesus Christ to earth.
As always context is king when we study scripture and today’s
verse comes right after Jesus literally “lifted up” to heaven in the event that
we call the Ascension. Can you imagine?
Talk about “Beam me up Scotty.” I’m
sure the History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens” has their own take on this event that
involves extra terrestrial beings from distant planets but for those who study the
Bible we can surmise the true narrative to be consistent with all of
scripture.
Various passages in the Bible describe a heavenly throne room
in a spiritual realm that is beyond earth. I believe I discussed this in Lesson
Seven of my recent Bondage Breaker Class so check out the podcast. But anyway, I briefly discussed what Paul referred
to as the “third Heaven” – the place of God’s celestial kingdom. That’s where
Jesus went when He ascended and where He is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
This fact is pretty great but what is even greater is that
the angels that were present to witness Christ’s Ascension, told the Apostles
that Christ would be back. Any doubts of
the angel’s claims that may have developed over time were swept away with some
passages in the Apostle’s epistles that confirmed it and when Christ Himself
revealed to the Apostle John even more details of His return in the book of
Revelation.
So in this case what went up, will most certainly come down.
Christ will return. And although the
imagery in Revelation may confuse if not frighten us as we contemplate “the end
times”, we must remember, that for the Christian, the end times are only the beginning
of an eternity that will be spent with Jesus in a realm that is described as
having no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain (Rev 21:4).
So we should take great hope from today’s verse and not
worry about Christ’s return. Instead we should rejoice, share the gospel, make
disciples, and live a good life knowing that God has a plan, and that Christ
could return at any moment.
The peace of the Lord comes through knowing Him and knowing
that He works all things together for good for those who love Him. So stand in
the joy of the contemplation of the culmination of His plan and rest in the
love that He has poured out on you when He invited you to come into His kingdom
forever.
As
always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from
prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with
their walk.
Today we continue with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory
Over the Darkness, continuing Chapter 8.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study
and to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several
sites for less than $15.00:
Proper
Guidelines Lead to a Proper Walk
2.
Significance. Key Concept: Time
Significance is a time concept. What is forgotten in time
is of little significance. What is remembered for eternity is of great
significance. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "If any man's work . . .
remains, he shall receive a reward" (1 Cor. 3:14).
He instructed Timothy: "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness .
. . since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to
come" (1 Tim.
4:7, 8). If you want to increase your significance, focus your energies on
significant activities: those that will remain for eternity.
Stu, the pastor of a small church,
attended one of my classes at Talbot School of Theology. He was in his mid-30s
and married when he found out he had cancer. The doctors gave him less than two
years to live.
One day Stu came to talk to me.
"Ten years ago somebody gave a prophecy about me in church," he
began. "They said I was going to do a great work for God. I've led a few
hundred people to Christ, but I haven't had a great work for God yet. Do you
think God is going to heal me so the prophecy can be fulfilled?"
I registered shock by his statement
and said, "You've led a few hundred people to Christ and don't think you
have accomplished a great work for God? Stu, I know some significant pastors in
large churches who can't make that claim. I know some great theologians who
have led very few people to Christ. If a few hundred people are believers today
because of you, and they have influenced who knows how many other people for
Christ, I'd call that a great work for God." Stu is now with the Lord,
having completed his significant ministry of reaching hundreds for Christ.
One of the few heroes of my life is
Billy Graham. He has been verbally shot at from the right and from the left,
but he has remained true to his calling to preach the gospel. One day, several
years ago, I happened to see him walking through the lobby of the Century Plaza
Hotel in Los Angeles. I had never met him before, and I couldn't pass up the
opportunity. I caught up with him and said, "I wanted to meet you, Dr.
Graham, even though I'm just a lowly pastor."
He warmly returned my greeting and
then brought me up short by saying, "There's no such thing as a lowly
pastor."
He was right. There is no such thing
as a lowly pastor or a lowly child of God. We are in the significant business
of collecting treasures for eternity. What we do and say for Christ in this
world, no matter how insignificant it seems, will last forever.
Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.
---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------
God bless
you all!
Join our “Victory
over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” series of Discipleship Classes via
the mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts,
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian
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