Chatting about Heavenly Mansions
I met an old friend on Facebook last night. It had been pre FB since our last conversation and for the most part it was just chit-chat. Most FB chatting is just that, chit-chat. It is fun to keep up with friends and family but I’m more of a looker than a chatter. I also like to snipe my “two cents worth” on other people’s comments. I can be so funny!
Last night I chatted with my friend for about twenty minutes. Which was a long chat, by the way. Near the end of the conversation my friend said something about retirement. I mentioned death as my most likely option. He then said something that made me think. He said, “Are you putting in for cobble stone driveway and iron gate fence around house?”
I think that he was asking about my Heavenly retirement home and if I had made any special requests for it’s accouterments. I simply said, “Nope. I want constant Throne Room duty!”
That comment popped out of my brain quicker than I could type it! I was pleased. It also made me think even more about that future abode.
Jesus in John 14, just minutes before his crucifixion ordeal would begin, said the following,
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
As I meditated on the concept of heavenly mansions I pondered what Jesus said. I thought about what our heavenly dwelling will really look like. Then a question came, “Will I want to inhabit a mansion when Jesus is just down the street?” Have you ever thought about that?
A few years back another friend and I were chatting, in real life, and we were talking about what heaven might be like. I told him that I thought that our entire heavenly experience might be to gaze upon Jesus and worship him. He quickly responded, “Yuck! I want to do fun stuff!” This was a pastor friend mind you.
I once heard this phrase, “Hell would be heaven if God were there.” Do you believe that? What is your vision of Heaven? What do you think that we will be doing on the other side of Jordan; in Beulah Land? Plucking a harp on some cloud? Flying to Pluto with our new wings? Or gazing into our Saviors piercing eyes?
I doubt that I will want to be trimming my heavenly hedge when Jesus is just down the street! He will be the main attraction. He is the MAN, the KING, GOD.
Let me put it to you this way. If you had 50 yard-line tickets to the Super Bowl would you be home shoveling snow from your driveway, trimming your hedge or fixing a hot-dog? Of course not. That was a stupid question.
So, why, when in the New Jerusalem, will I want to spend time around my perfect Entertainment Center when The Satisfaction to all of my desire is available and wants my company? That too is a stupid question. I want Throne-room duty 24/7! Oops there will be no 24/7.
But speaking of Heaven, we need to talk more. And we will if time and you allow. See you soon.
I Think That I’ll Write the Bible!
Imagine writing Scripture and not even knowing it! I have liked to write for some time now. Lately I have set some rigorous writing goals for myself. I love certain styles of writing; usually the more down to earth the better I like it. I love a lot of personal illustrations.
I can not imagine any human being writing like the apostle Paul wrote. Have you have ever read his little letter to Philemon? It makes me cry just about every time that I peruse it’s few words. He expresses himself as if he were inspired by God. Oh, right, he was!
Just now I find myself in 1 Corinthians. It is a fascinating read too. Paul wrote this letter to a struggling congregation. He wrote on difficult subjects. He wrote with gusto to communicate a very important message to a small group. And every word was exactly what God would have said. In fact God was his proofreader!
I wonder what it was like? I mean the man was writing the Bible. He was being used by the Holy Spirit to write part of the Holy Scriptures. Yet in the passage above he says, “…and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.”
Do you understand what he was saying? He was not doubting his Salvation. He was not doubting that the Holy Spirit lived in his body. Just a few verses prior he had told the Corinthians, “You have GOT to be kidding! You mean to tell me that you didn’t KNOW that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit?” That quote, by the way, was definitely NOT Scripture in case you didn’t notice.
In the above context Paul was saying, “I have just given you my opinion. But I think that the Holy Spirit would have said the very same thing.” And guess what? He was right! How do I know? Because what he put on parchment is now a part of the Bible.
These days we have some pretty sharp writers. A quick look at any number of blogs will impress the sock off you. Some of these writers are even Christian writers. The interesting aspect of modern-day writers vs Paul’s writings is that no matter how creative one might try to be they will never write Holy Scripture. The Bible is a finished work. It can’t be added to nor subtracted from.
Oh it can be butchered and badly preached. It can be cited to support the strangest of doctrines. But the Bible is THE book. It has no comparison.
Paul wrote no less than thirteen books of this Treasure: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon. Some even think that he might be the mystery author of Hebrews. I don’t. But whatever. Paul wrote a lot.
Where am I going with this thought? God has used few men like he use Paul or any other Bible text author. This does not preclude the possibility that He can use a normal guy like me. He can and does. Thinking about that possibility, that God can and will use me, should mold most if not all of my projects, plans or relationships. I’m not to fret about what I can’t do but to dream and do what God can use me to do.
So! Go write a book. It might be a best seller. However, don’t leave God out of it or He might just leave you out of His!
My Body a Temple? (2)
Posted: January 31st, 2011 | Author: jewellpage | Filed under: Daily Devos | Modify: Edit this | Leave a comment »
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you
Never before in History had there been a Temple for the Holy Spirit. Not until the day of Pentecost that is. On that day the Comforter who Jesus promised to send, His Holy Spirit came to dwell personally in every believer. You can read the familiar account in the book of Acts chapter 2. It was quite an ordeal with the sound of a mighty wind, a flame over each believer’s head and the ability to supernaturally speak in different languages!
My Body a Temple?
(1 Corinthians 6.19)
The stones for the Temple’s construction have already been ordered from none other than Israel. The church’s leader Bishop Edir Macedo assures us that the building will NOT be covered in gold but will cost a fortune to build. Just imagine!
Why are they doing this? Tourist attraction comes to mind. Do you think that they might make some money on their investment? I think so. The whole thing is a stroke of genius if you ask me.
While thinking on 1 Corinthians this article came to my attention. I was struck with the awe of the Brazilian construction project. Like it or not when finished it will be wonderful to behold.
However, Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6.19 struck me! He said, What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you…. Wait just a minute here! Believers have heard this verse many times. So many times, in fact, that we overlook what Paul is saying.
The Temple that the Universal church is building is going to be hard to overlook at eighteen stories. But you and I over look this tremendous verse in 1 Corinthians 6 often. Look again, What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you….
When have you ever heard of a temple being built for the Holy Spirit? In the Old Testament such a building project is unheard of. For much of the Old Testament God “dwells” in a tent called the Tabernacle. David aspires to build a Temple for God and is told that he can’t. Finally Solomon accomplishes the task and builds a marvelous structure in seven years that endures approximately 410 years. All of this and not one mention of a Temple for the Holy Spirit!
Not until the time of the church at Corinth that is. I’d like to continue this thought tomorrow if you’ll permit me. Thanks.
An Appendix in the Body of Christ
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you (1 Corinthians 6.19)
Our bodies are a marvelous work of a wonderful Creator. Though they have their ups and downs and their weaknesses and strengths they are a wonder. I need little reminder about the importance of each part when I begin to feel the on coming pain of a kidney stone. A tiny stone can bring a body into writhing knots. As I read Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth the other day I contemplated the different parts that he mentions and began to wonder about what organ I am in the body of Christ. Am I an appendix? And if so what of it?
An appendix is an important little appendage. Do you realize what your body would be without an appendix? You might be laughing to yourself and saying, “Mike I had my appendix out when I was seven.”
It is true that an appendix can be removed without much notice or difference in body function. However, lets imagine the hole that would be left if that little worm was suddenly hacked from your large intestine! The filth that would spill into your body cavity would be devastating.
Hard? Yes. But we’ve been equipped for the task. Read Paul’s letter to Corinth if you don’t believe me. Let his instruction sink into that marvelous gray matter between your ears. It will change you perspective on life. I’m an appendix! Hooray!
Wrestling
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him (Gen 32:24)
Gym class wrestling was fun. I learned a couple of moves and decided to try them out on my dad. Dad weighted 165lbs and I 150lbs. I was fifteen and dad sixty-five. Our match was a quick one. Dad was not the athletic type though in later years he would walk circles around this much younger whipper-snapper.
I took the all-four’s position and dad knelt beside me and placed his hands where I instructed him to. His right arm wrapped around my waist. That was his big mistake! I had set him up.
Mom shouted “GO!” and in a flash I flipped dad over my back and onto his. He was pinned and I felt guilty in my victory.
Jacob seems to feel no guilt for having equaled God. I come to this strange account in Genesis 32 nearly yearly and wonder. Jacob wrestles the night away with none other than the Lord Jesus.
As they mucked around hour after hour was there any wrestling banter, or only grunts? What did it feel like for each participant? How did the encounter begin? “Hey wanna wrestle?” Weird to think about isn’t it?
Why did Jesus let Jacob prevail for so long? Why did they wrestle in the first place? Jacob was petrified to meet his brother Esau but willing to wrestle with a complete stranger. Strange.
Or, was that the point? God had promised to bless Jacob. He had promised to protect him. He had promised him a heritage. Yet here Jacob was fearing imminent death at the hands of Esau.
By allowing Jacob to wrestle awhile and “prevail” Jesus/ God was encouraging Jacob’s faith. He was emphasizing future blessing. He was allowing him to see that he HAD a future. The name change was the topper to this strange wrestling match. Jacob, who struggled with man, became Israel who struggled with God.
Israel still struggles with God doesn’t it? It will until Jesus comes back for a second round. He’ll win that one quicker-than-a-wink!
Check Your Navel
it shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones (Proverbs 3.8)
While reading in Proverbs 3 today I noticed the strange wording above. At first glance to an American living in the Twenty-First Century, the phrase seems to punch us below the belt. Or nearly so. What in the world does “a healthy navel” look like and do I really want to know?
At moments like this one might think, “If only I’d have gone to Bible College!” However, don’t let such wording catch you by surprise. If your Bible is like mine you will find a little “bold” letter beside the word “navel” which will lead you to the center column explanation. Mine simply says, “or body”.
With that in mind I return to the text and see, “it shall be health to thy body and marrow to thy bones.”
Hummm. Does that help? No. The phrase is part of a bigger context. Over the months I have talked about how important “context” is in Bible study. We often get confused if we look at one verse only.
Proverbs 3 is a classic chapter. It would do us well to memorize and teach it to everyone we know. Listen to just the first few verses to get an idea of the context of the above verse.
1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
Do you think that this text would preach? I’ve highlighted some of the themes that popped out as I read through it just now. If we focused on applying the truths in these few verses during this new year we would be victors.
Proverbs is a book that you must chew slowly. Years ago Kay Arthur came to our church. This was back in the mid 60s before she started Precepts Ministries. She was friends with our pastor and had come to visit him. She did something that wouldn’t be allowed today. She taught our youth group one Sunday morning.
She had a neat idea. She said, “Proverbs has thirty-one chapters. So what you need to do is read the corresponding chapter with the date. If today is the eleventh read Proverbs chapter eleven.”
I’ve done that a few times since. It is a good way to remember to read the Proverbs regularly. However, if you want even more. Go verse by verse or paragraph by paragraph. Meditate on each bite and savor each morsel. It will fatten your navel. Which, Spiritually, is a good thing!
Rain Drop
The other day I talked about how God places SLOW driver in front of me on a regular basis. With that thought I developed a tiny bit of what I understand about God’s sovereignty. “Tiny bit” is an understatement. TINY TINY bit multiplied one billion times one billion might better describe how little I know about God’s Omni qualities.
I can’t remember if I’ve shared this before or not but it fits this post. I was trying, in my simple way, to do what a great preacher of the past once described as, “Putting the cookies on the bottom-shelf” so that his congregation could understand doctrine. My preaching is bottom shelf by design because I consider myself a “bottom-shelf” person. I’m rather simple and still learning everyday.
With the “bottom-shelf” idea I was trying to explain how I understand God’s Sovereignty. It was a Wednesday night prayer meeting and pastor had let me preach. Just as I was in the middle of my discourse pastor entered the auditorium and sat in the back. I about passed out.
After the service he came up to me. He said, “MIKE, you were trying to explain in FIVE minutes what some men have spent FIVE HUNDRED PAGES trying to explain! How did you think that you could do that?”
In my “bottom-shelf” way I thought to myself, “I tried to explain the unexplainable in five minutes and didn’t succeed. These other guys probably spend years and five hundred pages and didn’t succeed either. So, whose further ahead?”
Just yesterday I got a really simple but abrupt illustration of God’s Sovereignty. Now, before you theologians begin to salivate let me again warn you that it is a very, “bottom-shelf” illustration. I promise.
I went to the bank and it was raining. I parked my car about a block away. I usually have to do that here because there is rarely any parking near where you want to go. Anyway as I walked I rounded a corner to the main street. Just as I passed under an awning a LARGE, COLD and Well-aimed rain drop smacked the bridge of my nose. It startled me and woke me up!
“OK Mike. SO, what?” I just read your thoughts didn’t I? I’m getting to the sovereignty part right now. Don’t you see it? It’s as plain as the nose on my face. That rain drop was meant for me!
I walked Fifty-Seven years to get to that exact spot at just the right moment so that that drop could land smack-dab on the bridge of my rather large nose!
“O PLEASE. STOP IT! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!”
Nope I’m not. My God is so big and so in control that he saved that drop for little old me. Going light on the “Old” part.
I know that I’ve used these verses before but they bear repeating. Note them and memorize them for when you are feeling lonely, left out or forgotten:
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Psalms 37:23
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. Psalms 37:24
A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24
For in him we live, and move, and have our being.… Acts 17:28a
God is so intertwined in my world that he know everything about it. The very measurement of each step that I take is exact. When I stumble God is there. When I have near misses in traffic He knows. When I pass a flower in the woods who do you think that it was put there for, the ants? Nope. It was put there for me.
Don’t give up my friend. God knows everything about your world too. He wants you to know that He knows! He wants you to know Him in a “Bottom-shelf” way. It is really the only way we can know Him. We’re so tiny and He’s SO AWESOME!
That Guy is God’s Will for My Life!
lean not unto thine own understanding. (Proverbs 3.5)
I believe in God’s Sovereignty. Sovereignty means that God is never out of control and always IN control. God knows what I need. He knows when I need it and He knows just how to deliver the dosage that I need. However, when thinking about sovereignty the waters often become muddled when we throw “Man’s Choice” into the picture.
I make choices every day, some good and some bad. Is God responsible for those? Yes and no. Now there is a safe answer for you!
For centuries theologians have debated the topic of, “God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Choice” and are still in the dark. This devotional will not answer that question either. You can ask God when you meet him face to face. What I want to do here is to help you think about how God’s Sovereignty works out practically in the choices we make.
Through the years I’ve noticed something peculiar. Every time that I get behind the wheel of a car there is a greater probability that my demeanor will change. It doesn’t always happen but it’s happened enough that I see a pattern. It is a choice I make.
The funny thing that I’ve noticed recently is that when I’m on my way to work my path literally gets plugged. By that I mean, I’m driving along on a four lane and all is well. When I come to the stretch where the road narrows, however, there always seems to be a slower vehicle ahead of me.
I mean, just as I get to that part of my quick trip invariably a truck loaded with, bricks, dirt or pigs lumbers into the picture. It is not always a truck. I could be a 1972 Beetle or an 84 Ford. Or even that rarely slow motorcyclist who decides to take a “Sunday drive” on Tuesday.
[Side note. Motorcyclists here in Brazil are NUTS! They drive between cars. They often run red-lights and they take treacherous risks with their own and other people’s lives. I’ve seen several of them dead along side the road. One so mutilated that.. well enough about this.]
So, where am I going with all of this? The day before yesterday I came to that stretch and there was that 84 Ford and it hit me, “That guy is God’s will for my life!”
As mentioned, God knows what I need and He knows how much I need. God knows that I need patience. I hate patience with a passion. Except when others are patient with me of course. People tell me that they’re praying that God will give me patience and I tell them to mind their own business!
However, out of the blue, God brings me to that “straight and narrow” passage that few find and I chomp at the bit to pass that little old man with a hat that can barely see over the steering wheel driving that piece of junk in front of me! Wow. That felt good.
I have a choice. I can “p a t i e n t l y”, that was hard to type, plod along behind that God placed individual or I can be a jerk and tailgate, beep my horn and fume.
God is in control but the choice is mine. Do you see my point? I know that you do. Unless you are that little old man!
God’s Will and Abraham’s Thigh
And Abraham said unto his eldest servant… Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: (Genesis 24:2)
In Genesis 24 Isaac gets a wife. The circumstances surrounding that union are strange to a westerner like me. I cannot imagine choosing a husband for my daughter in a similar way.
The story goes like this. Abraham lived in Canaan and is nearing death. Isaac is nearing forty and needs a wife. So, Abe calls his trusted servant and gives him a special mission; "Find a wife among my relatives for the lad." The servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh and swears that he will do his best.
My question would be, "Was this normal behavior?" None of my friends have ever sent one of their employees on such a mission. At least that I know of. In my family, none of my siblings ever sent anyone to find a spouse for any of their kids. I’ll check it out but I’m pretty sure that they didn’t
And another thing. Was this a trusted method? Again I’ll have to look to the real source of trust in this story. It comes down to the old, "Hand under the thigh" oath. WHAT?
That’s right folks. Abraham sent his servant on a mission of consequential proportions with an oath taken while the servant’s hand was under his thigh. Hummmm…. OK.
So why the thigh? My study Bible gives me a hint here. The thigh was, "near the organ of procreation." Oh my.
You’ll have to remember that Abraham was nearly 180 years old. As mentioned Isaac was a home-boy and single at 40. There was a nation at risk here. If Isaac didn’t get a wife there would be no nation. If there was no nation God’s promise would not be fulfilled. This was important stuff. But was it mission impossible? No. Because God was involved.
Back to the story. The servant returns to Abraham’s city and waits near a well. There he prays that God will show him the right girl for Isaac. The girl who he asks for a drink will offer to water his camels too. He brought along ten for this occasion.
As he finishes his prayer he sees Rebecca, a lovely girl, coming to fetch water. He asks for a drink and she offers to water his camels too.
I’ve read this account many times but never did the math until this morning. Do you know how much water a camel can drink? One site says that, "A large thirsty Camel can drink up to 200 liters a day."
Take 200 liters times 10 camels and you’ve got 2,000 liters of water. That is simple math but not a simple chore! In gallons that is just over 528. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. 528 times 8 equals 4,224 pounds of water that she drew from that well in probably more than a hundred trips. Don’t mess with Rebecca!
So, where’s the romance in this account? There isn’t any. Arranged marriages were rarely romantic affairs. However, God was behind the scenes in this love story. A strange oath lead to a "chance" encounter where a young girl worked hard to gratify a complete stranger. That act revealed God’s choice for Israel’s future. If she hadn’t watered those camels Jesus wouldn’t have been born! But she did and He was.
What act of kindness will you do today? How will it affect the future of the world? With God working behind the scenes you might be surprised. But please leave the "thigh oath" out of the picture.
