Undocumented?

When I was a teenager one of my friends wrote a song called “I don’t want to get adjusted to this world.”

Though I cannot remember a word of the lyrics that title sticks in my memory. Too often we spend our time and energy rushing around hoping to be accepted by people. We are frustrated by what we hear in the media, surprised by the opposition we face in the break room and angry by what happens in government circles.

But consider that Jesus was almost murdered by the king as an infant. He was rejected by his neighbors. The religious establishment spent much of their time behind the scenes plotting to have Him arrested. Finally one of His own disciples turned Jesus over to the authorities for cash. As He stood before the governor with His life in the balance He made the shocking assertion:

…But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36 ESV

If we are waiting to be understood accepted and lauded for living for Jesus Christ we will be severely disappointed. But instead of wasting energy working on our earthly resume we need to rejoice that our heavenly travel documents are all in order through the cross of Christ!!

Are you Blessed Today?

Do you feel a lot like Thomas some mornings? Wouldn’t it be wonderfully satisfying to see some miraculous sign from heaven showing us the way instead of needing to just take someone else’s word for it? I really would!!!

But God has chosen two astonishing ways to build our faith. First He decided that the Bible itself (the stories of those who witnessed the resurrection) would be all we needed to believe. Secondly God chooses to bless us more than even the apostles if we will believe without seeing. That’s a lot of blessings! We can have more blessings than Thomas who brought the gospel to India. We can gain greater blessings than even Peter, who walked on water with Jesus. We can see greater miracles than Andrew who brought a child’s bread to Jesus and saw it multiplied enough to feed 5000. God loves us and will save and forgive us at just the tiniest step of faith when we believe without seeing. We do not need to move a mountain because God has already moved it for us. The mountain of sin and shame was no match for our Savior. Jesus comes with His greatest blessings when it feels like we have missed the big moment and it seems we have been left out. No one of us is too far away for Jesus to draw near. He is at the door waiting on us to simply and wonderfully believe. We cannot see Him now but we can have a wonderful unexplainable unextinguishable joy full of blessings both today and forevermore!

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1 Peter 1:8 KJV

What can Separate?

When I was just a small child my mother packed her bags and while my father was working she left with me in her arms to live with my grandparents. The separation was devastating to my Dad but as I was only about a year old I had no understanding of what had happened. One day my father had been there. The next I was separated. Between that moment and my middle teen years I only saw my father twice and then for only an hour or so.

When I was fifteen years old my father was finally able to have a custody hearing. That afternoon I entered into the judge’s chambers alone and he asked me a single question, “Do you like your father?”

“I don’t know.” I answered truthfully shrugging my shoulders. I don’t know who he is” I didn’t realize that I had actually passed right by my dad and step-mother on the way in to the court.

“Then I’m going to give you a chance to get to know him.” The judge answered.

In much the same way, our heavenly father is sitting just outside the courtroom of eternity. Because of our sins we have been legally separated from him. Under the cover of night, they have taken us from His house. But when Jesus gave His last drop of blood for us on the cross a cosmic earthquake took place. We were called into court and Heaven’s custody hearing began a single question. “Do you like your father?”

Though it took me a lifetime to build a relationship with my father he made it all possible because nothing was able to separate me from his love. The promise of God is that nothing can separate us from His love and He has planned an eternal relationship for you and I. His Son Jesus Christ suffered and died to buy that opportunity for us, but in order to award custody Heaven’s judge is waiting on our answer.

 

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